Ukraine produces analogs of Iranian Shahed drones to counter Russian attacks — Defense Express agency
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Ukraine already produces its own analogs of Iranian Shahed-131 kamikaze drones and has successfully used them in Russia's war, says Ivan Kyrychevskyi, an expert from the Defense Express information consulting agency.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has recently announced another type of Ukrainian long-range weaponry, which hit a 700-kilometer away target. Previously, defense top official Oleksii Danilov said Ukrainian arms maker produced the first missile prototype, which can strike a 1,500 km-away target.
This statement follows the next day after Ukrainian drones attacked Russia's military airport in Pskov, which serves as proof of domestically made drones' effectiveness.
The first known raid of Ukrainian drones into Russian territory occurred with attacks on the strategic aviation airfields of Dyagilevo and Engels back in December 2022. According to the AFU General Staff, these strikes were carried out using modified Soviet Tu-141 Strizh drones.
The NYT, citing its own sources, reported that Ukraine is allegedly developing several models of 1000-kilometer range drones. Daily news of drone attacks on Russia indicates that this production is taken seriously and shows great results.
When it comes to combat drones, Ukraine is literally ahead of the whole world. This spring, the UK announced that it plans to transfer to us a batch of kamikaze drones with a range of 200 kilometers, and at that time, it was seen as a long-awaited event. It's unclear what happened with that story, but in the meantime, we have produced our own analogs of Shaheds, said Ivan Kyrychevskyi.
Even the drone that flies to Moscow, under the codename Bober (Beaver – ed.), has characteristics that, as recognized by the Russians themselves, surpass the Shahed-131, he adds.
Kyrychevskyi noted that it took Iran 20 years to reach the technological level for the Shahed-136 drone development and at least five years for the drone's actual release.
Ukraine is progressing in this regard "even faster than one might imagine." However, combat drones themselves are not enough, no matter how advanced they are. Neither their speed nor their combat payload can compare to modern long-range missiles.
Ukraine's drone production
According to former Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, Ukrainian forces have already mastered over 20 new types of locally made drones.
He also predicts that Ukraine is experiencing a "real peak" in drone production as the government has managed to simplify procedures for developers and manufacturers of weapons and military equipment.
The Cabinet of Ministers also allocated $1 billion this year to invest in Ukrainian drone manufacturers.
