By Philip Butterworth-Hayes
The Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform reports that the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) has “successfully used a Ukrainian interceptor against a Russian Geran-5 jet-powered drone for the second time on Saturday, September 19.”
“Today, we have already seen the second successful deployment of a new Ukrainian interceptor drone by the Security Service of Ukraine. SSU military counterintelligence personnel successfully struck a Russian Geran-5 jet-powered drone,” the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported in a facebook post.
No details were given of the the new interceptor or its manufacturer but video shows a delta-wing design drone with an exhaust outlet, suggesting the integration of a turbojet engine in its design. Russia has recently upgraded its Geran-5 drones with a Chinese-manufactured turbojet to give a longer range and 600 km/h cruise speed. Equipped with a layered communication system which includes mech radio links and mobile network telecommunications capabilities, this new type has made detection and mitigation more challenging for Ukrainian air defence systems.
“The Armed Forces of Ukraine are already testing four promising models of interceptor drones on the front line to counter Russian jet-powered UAVs, while about 10 more manufacturers are testing their own designs,” says the new agency.
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Ukraine’s new interceptor scores second success against Russian jet-powered Geran drone
(Image: Ukrinform)