Ukraine’s air defenses have been intercepting nearly 60% of Russian Geran-4 jet-powered attack drones over the past three months, with the interception rate reaching 80% during some attacks, Ukraine’s General Staff said.

Russia has increasingly used jet-powered drones in its attacks on Ukraine, adding a faster-moving threat to the Shahed-type drones Moscow deploys against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. Ukraine is working to improve interception rates while reducing the cost of countering these aerial threats amid shortages of surface-to-air missiles.

The General Staff’s update did not mention interception rates for Russia’s more advanced Geran-5 jet-powered drone.

F-16s, Mirage jets help intercept Russian drones

According to the General Staff, tactical aviation plays a significant role in destroying Russian jet-powered drones. Ukraine uses F-16s, French Mirage aircraft, and MiG-29 fighters to intercept them.

The military is also strengthening what it calls “short-range air defense” as Ukraine faces a shortage of guided anti-aircraft missiles. These systems include Gepard and Shilka anti-aircraft guns, newer Skynex, Skyranger, and Terrahawk Paladin systems, interceptor drones, and mobile fire groups deployed by different branches of Ukraine’s Defense Forces.

Mobile fire groups are equipped not only with machine guns and supporting equipment but also with man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS). Ukrainian troops have been successfully using these missiles to shoot down Russian jet-powered drones, the General Staff said.

Ukraine tests cheaper drone interceptors

Ukraine is also seeking to lower the cost of countering Russian aerial attacks by testing new interceptor drones.

According to the General Staff, some models have already downed dozens of Russian Geran jet-powered drones. The military did not provide further details about the interceptor models or the number of drones destroyed.

The rising interception rate reflects Ukraine’s efforts to adapt its air defenses to Russia’s evolving drone campaign while preserving scarce and expensive air-defense missiles for threats that require them.

German defense AI firm Helsing has unveiled Contra, an AI-run air defense system and two interceptor missiles designed to chase Russia’s jet-powered Geran drones, the company announced on 26 October. Officials pitch it as cheap, but it won’t reach the market this winter.

That leaves Ukraine on its own defenses as Russia shifts to jet drones. By early October, jet models made up about 40% of Russian drone launches, and Ukraine’s own interceptors for them won’t arrive in needed numbers before late November, Air Force Deputy Commander Yurii Cherevashenko said.

Two missiles, one AI brain

Contra is the command layer of air defense: it links radars and other sensors, tracks incoming drones and missiles, and assigns a weapon to each target, while people keep control over decisions, Helsing said. Besides the company’s own missiles, it can also use other firms’ interceptors, lasers, guns, or nets. AD-1 Inferno is jet-powered and designed to loiter, swarm, and re-engage targets, while AD-2 Ambush, a solid-fuel rocket, is designed to reach Mach 2.5, over twice the speed of sound, and a range of more than 20 km, the company said.

Inferno, with a 700 km/h speed and a 20-km range, would be the everyday shooter. Ambush would handle “leakers,” drones about to hit the ground, said Maxwell Adams, Helsing’s senior product director. Each shot should cost under $100,000, company officials said.

Built for the faster Gerans

Ukraine once downed 90% of Russia’s slower, propeller-driven Gerans, copies of Iran’s Shahed, Defense News reported. Russia has since fielded thousands of jet Geran-4s and Geran-5s flying at 400–700 km/h, and almost half now get through, Helsing co-founder and co-CEO Gundbert Scherf said.

Ukraine’s own nightly rates swing widely. On 28 September, President Zelenskyy put the shoot-down rate for jet drones at 57%. Overnight on 7 October, it exceeded 82%, National Security and Defense Council Secretary Ihor Klymenko said. Russian output of the two models has reached 4,000 a month, Helsing said, citing unspecified intelligence reports.

Helsing has signed one Contra contract, Scherf said, but the system is still in testing, and he expects it on the market in the second half of 2027. Ukraine already uses Helsing’s HX-2 strike drones. Scherf said they should be integrated into a system like Contra.

One morning in June, the head of export at Ukrainian drone company Stellarion found himself unexpectedly in need of a U-Haul outside the Detroit Metro Airport in Michigan.

Stellarion was set to test its drones in front of American soldiers at a competition organized by the Pentagon at Camp Grayling,

• A shotgun-armed drone has joined the Blue UAS List of approved uncrewed systems.
• Skyborne Technologies said it built the drone to withstand a shotgun's recoil.
• The Blue UAS List helps the US military and other federal agencies identify vetted drones.

A drone armed with a shotgun has been added to the Pentagon's list of uncrewed systems approved for purchase by the US military and other federal agencies.

Shotguns are commonly seen as a last line of defense against uncrewed aerial systems. Now, US troops could find themselves using a drone armed with one instead.

Earlier this month, Skyborne Technologies' AI-enabled Cerberus MI was approved for the Blue UAS List. The drone is a small, man-portable UAS that the company says was specifically designed to absorb the recoil of attached weapons. The company says the aircraft weighs about 40 pounds, can fly for roughly 35 minutes when armed, and engage targets at a range of over 300 meters.

Instead of simply mounting a shotgun on a commercial, off-the-shelf drone, Skyborne purposefully designed and built the aircraft with the recoil of a CHAOS 12-gauge shotgun in mind.

In addition to the shotgun, Cerberus MI can also be equipped to carry a HAVOC 40mm low-velocity grenade launcher. An operator can send the drone into action, fire its weapons, and fly it back for reloading. According to Skyborne, that makes it a reusable alternative to one-way attack systems that are typically destroyed after striking a target.

The idea of arming drones with shotguns isn't new. Ukrainian defense company 3DTech, for example, developed a drone equipped with a six-barrel recoilless shotgun system to shoot down enemy drones. Other companies are pursuing similar technology, including Federal Ammunition, Mossberg, and Palladyne AI, which are collaborating on the SwarmShot project.

The Pentagon's Blue UAS program was established in 2020 to identify drones that meet US government standards, particularly cybersecurity and supply chain rules. Last year, the Defense Contract Management Agency launched an official website cataloging the models approved for use.

The DCMA said that the list would expedite the process of getting drones into troops' hands as the US Department of Defense and other federal agencies push to rapidly integrate uncrewed systems into operations. Drones, drone parts, and software are part of the program.

A major focus of the list is identifying drones that meet restrictions on Chinese-made components. According to the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International, Chinese companies control 90% of the commercial drone market. US officials have raised concerns about Beijing's leverage over the market.

The operation, code-named "Veles," involved an underground advance of more than 15 kilometers (9 miles), according to Zelensky.

Fighter jets, including F-16s, Mirage aircraft, and MiG-29s, play a significant role in intercepting Russian jet-powered drones, according to the General Staff.

Ukraine’s 475th Separate Assault Regiment, known as CODE 9.2, says it has used the StarGate uncrewed aerial platform to evacuate two seriously wounded soldiers from the battlefield in the span of a week. Reportedly, this is the first time the specialized drone has been used for an operation of this kind. It is not, however, the first instance of Ukraine using an aerial rescue drone on the battlefield, with the more extemporized heavy hexacopter also having been used recently, as you can read about here.

Taken together, the missions underscore Ukraine’s efforts to develop alternative casualty evacuation capabilities as Russian drone threats, electronic warfare, and harsh terrain increasingly complicate conventional recovery operations, including those using uncrewed ground vehicles (UGVs).

According to CODE 9.2, on its Facebook page, the regiment’s personnel carried out two complex evacuation missions using StarGate, a platform developed and manufactured by Ukrainian company SkyFall. The two wounded servicemen were 25-year-old Yevhen, callsign “Izyum,” and 24-year-old Artem, callsign “Kolobok.” Both belonged to adjacent units and had suffered severe limb injuries while occupying positions in a so-called gray zone approximately three miles from the Russian border.

Difficult terrain, including water obstacles, and the threat posed by Russian first-person-view (FPV) drones prevented ground vehicles from reaching the casualties, the regiment said. Air evacuation was the only available option.

The missions were planned and executed by CODE 9.2 personnel with support from SkyFall. They required coordination among multiple units, additional forces and equipment, and dedicated fire support — much like a more traditional casualty evacuation effort involving crewed helicopters. Vampire heavy strike drones were employed to suppress enemy positions during the operations.

“The injury tore off half of my foot, so a lot of blood was lost already,” Izyum said in a video interview from his hospital room. “I think if that incredible little bird hadn’t flown in, well, getting out from there would have been unrealistic.”

During one of the missions, StarGate reportedly flew nearly 20 miles to reach the casualty before covering approximately the same distance on the return leg with the wounded serviceman aboard. CODE 9.2 said Russian electronic warfare systems were actively attempting to suppress satellite navigation signals in the area.

Despite the reported interference, the platform completed the mission using its onboard artificial intelligence-based navigation system, according to the regiment. The statement did not specify the navigation technologies involved.

StarGate was designed specifically for casualty evacuation, or CASEVAC, when conventional ground transportation cannot reach wounded personnel or would expose them to unacceptable risks. Its stated specifications include a payload capacity of up to 330 pounds and a maximum speed of approximately 65 miles per hour. The evacuation module is based on a covered, medical-grade stretcher.

Oleksandr Nastenko, commander of CODE 9.2, callsign “Flint,” said the regiment intends to use the experience gained from the two missions to train crews and make aerial evacuation a more established capability. The regiment also plans to set up a dedicated aerial medical evacuation unit within its medical company.

The StarGate missions follow a separate reported operation involving the 92nd Assault Brigade, which says its personnel helped evacuate a wounded soldier using a heavy-lift hexacopter drone, produced by Gurzuf Defense, with the casualty suspended beneath it, as seen in the video below:

This drone was reportedly an Audag-6 model, which is said to be capable of carrying a 200-pound payload over a distance of up to 15 miles.

In that incident, the soldier had been wounded while holding his position. Once again, aerial extraction was judged the only suitable option; in this case, due to the presence of mines and intense Russian drone activity.

This was a more improvised approach, which the brigade described as the world’s first frontline aerial drone evacuation of a wounded soldier. Compared to Stargate, the Gurzuf drone brings some drawbacks with it, including casualty stability, exposure to the elements, the risk of swinging during flight, and the difficulty of safely lifting and lowering a severely injured person. It subsequently emerged that the soldier involved, Kostiantyn Vlasenko, had been forced to amputate his own foot as part of a 491-day ordeal on a frontline position.

This was not the first time that Ukrainian forces have adapted existing drone technology to effect battlefield evacuations.

TWZ also previously reported on a Ukrainian soldier who managed to escape from the Russians that surrounded him after an electric bike was dropped to him by a large aerial drone.

As a purpose-built platform, StarGate offers a more standardized way to secure and transport casualties, and to transport them protected from the elements, in a secure, prone position. However, StarGate still faces the challenges of flying in contested airspace and navigating under electronic warfare conditions. Once again, depending on the degree of injuries, the casualty may need assistance being put on the stretcher and, regardless of the degree of medical care that can be provided, StarGate is only an option if already available in proximity to the victim.

The fact that the StarGate missions also needed strike drones for fire support underscores that casualty recovery, whatever the platform being used, typically requires coordination across multiple combat elements.

Despite the limitations, CODE 9.2’s plan to create a dedicated medical aviation element indicates it wants to move beyond one-off missions toward a repeatable capability.

As with other emerging technologies from the war in Ukraine, this is likely to be studied by other armed forces, too. The U.S. military, for example, has long looked at the potential of uncrewed aerial systems to effect casualty evacuation missions, as you can read about here.

Meanwhile, the challenges of that conflict mean that Ukrainian troops continue to explore different ways to recover wounded troops from positions that more conventional evacuation methods can no longer safely reach.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

The post Ukraine’s StarGate Drone Now Evacuating Wounded Soldiers appeared first on TWZ.

Ukrainian postal company Nova Post has established its own private air defense capability and has already shot down Russian Shahed attack drones, company co-owner Viacheslav Klymov said on 27 October, according to Interfax-Ukraine.

As Russia increasingly targets Ukrainian factories, warehouses, transport hubs, and other civilian infrastructure, localized air defense is becoming more important. Ukraine’s expanding private air defense program allows businesses to help protect their facilities while operating within the country’s military air defense command system.

“We are one of the few companies that has implemented this project. I don’t want to disclose figures, but we have Shahed shootdowns,” Klymov said at the 12th Kyiv International Economic Forum, according to Interfax-Ukraine.

Klymov also argued that businesses can take on responsibilities that were previously considered exclusively the state’s domain. He pointed to firefighting as another area where companies can strengthen their own response capabilities.

Nova Post employees already extinguish many fires caused by Russian attacks on the company’s facilities without waiting for the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (DSNS) to arrive, he said. Large businesses are also looking for fire engines in Europe to establish their own firefighting units.

Private air defense expands across Ukraine

Ukraine began allowing private companies to establish air defense units under a government-approved framework in November 2025. These units operate under Air Force command, with the military coordinating their missions and integrating them into the national air defense network.

Nearly 100 companies have reportedly joined the experimental program. About 50 air defense groups had been formed, and crews from six companies were already carrying out combat missions. By 14 October, the groups had downed more than 60 aerial targets, mostly Russian drones, according to Ukraine’s Defense Ministry.

The program allows participating businesses to help defend industrial sites and critical infrastructure using capabilities that include interceptor drones and remotely operated heavy machine guns. The approach adds another layer of protection without requiring the military to cover every facility with its own units.

The need for such protection has grown as Russia continues launching long-range attack drones against civilian and industrial targets across Ukraine. Localized air defense can help protect specific sites and reduce the burden on military units, although it remains part of a coordinated national system rather than an independent replacement for military air defense.

Not every company sees private air defense as the answer

The approach has its limits. On 26 October, Kateryna Zahorii, chair of the board of directors of major pharmaceutical company Darnytsia, said her company had studied private air defense but decided against deploying it, Interfax-Ukraine reported.

Zahorii said the changing nature of the threat could make the investment difficult to sustain, as companies might need to keep upgrading their defenses. Darnytsia is instead prioritizing attack monitoring, employee shelters, and safety procedures. The company has been hit by Russian forces three times in September, according to NV.

A new video transmitter for Wild Hornets’ drones, including its STING interceptors, has passed state tests, the Ukrainian drone maker told Militarnyi. The module sends a drone’s camera feed to its pilot. The company expects it to widen its interceptors’ operating radius.

Russia launched 140 Shahed-type drones at Ukraine overnight on 26 October and 280 the next night, when its main target was Kyiv, Air Force figures as of the morning show. Interceptor drones, which cost dozens of times less than the Shaheds they hunt, are one of Ukraine’s answers. The STING alone downed more than 3,000 drones in its first seven months of use, Wild Hornets says. If the company’s estimate holds, a 30 km radius would let each ground station cover more than twice the area it covers at 20 km.

What the testers checked

Specialists from the State Research Institute for Testing and Certification of Arms and Military Equipment and the Defense Ministry’s State Quality Assurance Directorate confirmed the module’s declared characteristics on three drone types, the company said. The three were the STING interceptor, the Queen of Hornets cargo platform, and the 10-inch Wild Hornets Digital anti-aircraft drone.

Some of the drones’ figures exceeded the values the company had set for them, Wild Hornets told Ukrainian defense outlet Oboronka, without saying which ones. Those figures will enter the official specifications after further field tests, it said.

More than double the power

The module, called HV VTX Pro, is part of an upgrade to Wild Hornets’ Hornet Vision digital video system. It more than doubles the transmitter’s maximum power, to 4 W. That sends a clear picture farther and makes the feed steadier in crowded airwaves and under electronic jamming, the company said.

Wild Hornets first described the module in August, when it was already in serial production. Its interceptors’ operating radius would grow from around 20 km to 30 km, the company said at the time. That estimate assumed good line of sight and the 360-degree antenna on its ground stations, according to a company statement Interfax-Ukraine quoted. Interception could also become at least 20% more effective against targets flying extremely low, the statement said.

Wild Hornets is a Ukrainian company that designs and builds drones, from strike FPV drones and cargo platforms to the STING, which the company says flies at up to 280 km/h to hunt Shaheds. Its drones serve with more than 100 units of Ukraine’s Defense Forces, from the army and the National Guard to military intelligence, the Air Force, and the border guard, according to Interfax-Ukraine.

Russia is expanding drone storage at the Hvardiiske military airfield in occupied Crimea, Ukrainian OSINT channel Dnipro Osint reported on 26 October, citing new satellite images. The channel did not say who took the images or when. Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) said it struck drone hangars at the same airfield in July, and the military said strikes on 13 October damaged four drone storage sites nearby.

Hvardiiske has stayed in use since then. Ukraine’s General Staff has listed it among the sites Russia launched attack drones from in every daily report since 7 October. The airfield was on the list again on 24, 25, and 27 October, the night Russia aimed its main strike at Kyiv. The new construction, as the channel describes it, adds protected storage at a base Ukraine has already shown it can reach.

Shelters and “garages”

The images show more than 20 small shelters under construction, each protected by earth berms, the channel said. It also counted about 40 smaller structures it calls “garages.” It said they are meant for storing, servicing, and preparing Geran drones for launch.

Geran is the name Russia gives the Iranian-designed Shahed drones: the Shahed-136 became the Geran-2, which Russia now builds itself. The images show at least one hangar damaged by a Ukrainian drone hit, Dnipro Osint noted.

Launched from vehicles

Hvardiiske, north of Simferopol, uses mobile launch platforms instead of fixed installations, according to Dnipro Osint. Crews load drones onto specially equipped vehicles, which then launch them from the runway.

Struck repeatedly since June

On 24 June, the SBU said it hit infrastructure at Hvardiiske and at the Saky airbase. On 3 July, the SBU reported that its drones struck two hangars at Hvardiiske that stored Shaheds and aviation equipment. Ukraine’s General Staff said its forces struck the airfield again overnight on 5 July, and the SBU said a day later that it hit three hangars with aviation equipment there. A strike on 3 August destroyed nine aviation-fuel tanks and damaged two aircraft hangars, the General Staff said. Strikes on 13 October damaged four drone storage sites near Hvardiiske, with signs of secondary detonation, it reported two days later.

Not the only base Russia is building up

Hvardiiske is not the only Russian drone base Ukrainian OSINT channels have flagged this month. On 13 October, the anonymous channel Absolutely Reliable Source said Russia had nearly finished the first section of a launch site for jet-powered Geran-5 drones near Millerovo in Rostov Oblast, with eight launcher positions and 32 drone-preparation spots. Hvardiiske and Millerovo were both among the launch areas the General Staff listed for the night of 27 October, when Russia launched 280 Shahed-type drones, 69 of them jet-powered, with Kyiv as the main target.

The highest number of casualties Ukrainian drones inflicted on the Russian military was recorded in March, with almost 34,000 soldiers killed or irrecoverably wounded.

The investigation found that Russian designs for rocket-launched drones likely helped shape weapons China unveiled in 2025 and that Russian wind tunnels kept testing aircraft models for China's top arms maker after the invasion of Ukraine.