Ukraine’s drone-on-drone war is kicking into high gear

• Zelenskyy said Ukraine can make up to 800 interceptor drones in a day by the end of November.
• It’s yet another sign that Ukraine thinks it’s ready to roll out the new technology at scale.
• Once a novel concept, interceptor drones are quickly becoming a new pillar of air defense.

Ukraine finally looks like it’s about to build the interceptor drone arsenal it needs, shifting the world closer to a new type of air defense battle in which waves of drones fight each other.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that his country should reach a daily production of 600 to 800 of the inexpensive but speedy quadcopters — designed to destroy Russian attack drones in flight — by the end of November.

The new estimate is under Zelenskyy’s initial target of 1,000 a day, which he announced in July, but represents a more concrete gauge of what can be expected soon.

“I said that in the fall, there will be up to 1,000 interceptors produced per day. Of course, it’s not an easy story,” Zelenskyy told reporters. “We believe that by the end of November, there will be 600 to 800 interceptor drones produced per day, if nothing goes wrong.”

That’s as long as there aren’t any disruptions from Russian attacks or sabotage, the Ukrainian leader added.

“Because sometimes, as you know, there are strikes — not only on our energy facilities,” he said.

Interceptor drones are uncrewed aerial systems specifically made to be maneuverable and fast enough to chase and crash into an incoming attack drone, sometimes while carrying an explosive payload.

They’re a far cheaper alternative to Western surface-to-air missiles, which can cost up to millions of dollars each, and that’s why Kyiv wants more of the high-speed drones. Russia is increasingly trying to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses by launching hundreds of Shahed attack drones and Gerbera decoys in one night, often also firing advanced missiles in tandem.

Ukrainian and Western sources estimate that the Iranian-designed Shahed-136 costs between $20,000 and $70,000, so Ukraine needs a more cost-effective way to destroy them.

Drone manufacturers have been pushing the limits of their interceptors over the last year or so, making them faster and more responsive while trying to keep costs down. Meanwhile, Ukrainian cities suffered from repeated bombardment, with weekly reports of damaged energy infrastructure and residential buildings.

After months of development, Zelenskyy’s new timeline and estimates indicate that local companies and Ukraine’s military are now confident enough in their interceptors to move toward mass production.

Like with dozens of other systems used in the war, the heightened use of interceptors will likely be closely watched by militaries around the world that are developing or procuring their own interceptor drones.

Taras Tymochko, a project lead for interceptor drones at the Ukrainian crowdfunding organization ComeBackAlive, told Business Insider in late summer that local drone manufacturers charge roughly $3,000 to $6,000 per interceptor.

The price often depends on the systems received and the level and availability of technical support offered, Tymochko said.

It remains to be seen if increased interceptor production will provide the relief to air defenses that Ukraine has hoped for. Some interceptors are already reportedly finding success in battle.

The Sternenko Foundation, a crowdfunding organization that supports manufacturing for an interceptor called the Sting, said in a message to donors on October 26 that its funded interceptors destroyed nine out of 90 Russian drones detected in one night.

More broadly, Zelenskyy said in September that interceptor drones were responsible for 150 hits on Russian Shaheds and Gerberas in one night, out of a total of 810 drones.