Media: Shooting down Russian jet "Shaheds" will cost Ukraine millions

Media: Shooting down Russian jet "Shaheds" will cost Ukraine millions

To destroy Russian jet-powered drones like the "Shahed," Ukraine will have to use expensive and valuable anti-aircraft missiles until cheaper alternatives are found, which could cost millions, writes TMZ.

"For the most part, on the radar, it (the jet-powered ’Shahed’) appears as a cruise missile due to flight parameters, as its speed can exceed 500 kilometers per hour. Not all the means we currently use can intercept such targets," said Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat.

The publication notes that this type of weapon is also harder to track and intercept compared to "Shahed" drones with propeller engines because they fly fast and high. Jet-powered drones are likely a variant of the Shahed-238 drone, which Iran first introduced last November.

According to leaked documents, the Shahed-238 has a flight range of 620 to 1240 miles (approximately 997 to 1995 km) and can ascend to an altitude of almost six miles (approximately 9.65 km). The warhead weighs 50 kg, and its turbojet engine reaches a maximum speed of up to 600 km/h. The base model Shahed-136 reportedly has a maximum flight range of 2000 kilometers and a cruising speed of 180 km/h, comparable to a small general aviation light aircraft.

These characteristics make the Shahed-238 practically unreachable for mobile fire groups equipped with small arms and cannons, as well as for interceptor drones with electric motors, writes the Ukrainian resource "Militarnyi".

Jet-powered drones have been used by Russia in attacks on Ukraine not for the first time. While Ukraine is developing interceptors capable of countering jet-powered Shaheds, their mass production is a challenging task due to Russian attacks on production facilities and supply chain issues, noted the First Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov.

Another question remains how many such jet-powered "Shaheds" Russia is capable of producing.

"Currently, it produces 2000 propeller-driven Shahed per month and plans to increase this number to 5000, but adding jet engines complicates their production," adds TMZ.