Kiev has significantly expanded its range of drones since the Russian invasion in 2022 and regularly boasts the effectiveness of its interceptor drones, which it claims have no equivalent anywhere else on the planet.
Ukraine announced on Thursday that it was able to shoot down Russian drones with controlled interceptor drones from thousands of kilometers away, after a deputy claimed to have remotely piloted such an aircraft operating in Ukraine from abroad.
“The Ukraine is the first country in the world to systematically increase the remote control of its interceptor drones,” said Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhaіlo Fedorov on Thursday on Telegram. “Today, we have confirmed results regarding the destruction of targets at distances of hundreds and thousands of kilometers,” he said.
Kiev has significantly developed its range of drones since the Russian invasion in 2022 and regularly touts the effectiveness of its interceptor drones, which it claims have no equivalent elsewhere on the planet. The minister did not specify the location and date of these interceptions, but the Ukrainian drone manufacturer Wild Hornets announced last week that a pilot had remotely controlled an interceptor using its technology “from abroad.” The interceptor drone itself “operated in northern Ukraine.”
“Historical Experience”
Ukrainian deputy Marian Zablotskiy declared on Tuesday that he was the one who piloted the interceptor, calling the trial a “historical experience.” “I piloted an FPV interceptor drone first from my office, then just in front of the border, and then from a location about 2000 km from the drone itself, from abroad,” Marian Zablotskiy said on social media.
He had previously mentioned undergoing drone pilot training and signing a contract with volunteer territorial defense units. “I consider this breakthrough a decisive factor in finally stopping the Russian offensive,” he said. Wild Hornets confirmed to AFP that it was indeed him who directed the interceptor and that the company wanted this remote control system to “become the main method of drone piloting.”
“The pilot is no longer tied to a specific location. The drone is in the sky and controlled from a secure environment in Kiev, Lviv (western Ukraine), or even from abroad,” explained Mr. Fedorov, adding that around ten drone manufacturers had “integrated this solution into their systems.”
