Ukrainian firms produce drones capable of downing Shaheds — military expert Zgurets

Serhiy Zgurets, CEO of the media and consulting company Defense Express, discussed the issue on Espreso TV.

“This week, we saw a new version of the Shahed drone equipped with a camera and an artificial intelligence system that enables it to identify targets using optical imaging, so to speak,” Zgurets explained.

He noted that the drone can also be controlled via a radio channel at a range of approximately 150 kilometers — potentially even farther if signal repeaters are used.

Zgurets added that the drone includes Iranian-made components.

“So far, we don’t know how widespread these new models are. This appears to be the first version, but the threat lies in the fact that artificial intelligence allows the enemy to deploy this drone even in environments where our electronic warfare systems are active,” Zgurets explained. “In essence, this Shahed is resistant to electronic warfare. Its radio control capability also means it can function like a large FPV drone equipped with a powerful warhead.”

He emphasized that this represents a new and serious challenge, but efforts are already underway to develop effective countermeasures.

“The most effective solution remains anti-aircraft drones. These are not only being developed in cooperation with NATO countries, but are already being produced by at least three or four Ukrainian companies,” Zgurets said. “Our anti-aircraft drones are successfully shooting down Shaheds, and this approach is gaining traction. Several domestic companies are now manufacturing drones specifically designed to intercept and destroy Shaheds.”

The expert emphasized that the key challenge now is how to scale up these defensive measures.

“On one hand, this involves increasing the number of anti-aircraft drones; on the other, it means expanding the number of units capable of effectively deploying these new Ukrainian weapons. We are in the process of scaling this up in order to reduce the growing Russian threat, specifically, the increasing number of Shahed drones. 

We now know that Russia is producing around 90 Shaheds per day. That amounts to roughly 2,700 per month, plus an additional 2,500 various decoy drones, which are also used in attacks. The overall number of strike assets used by the enemy is on the rise. The search for effective countermeasures is now a top priority for Ukraine’s Security and Defense Forces, working in close cooperation with the domestic defense industry,” Zgurets concluded.