The General Staff has stated that many times more missile air defense is needed. Drones can help against the Shaheds
To ensure reliable defense, Ukraine needs "many times more" anti-aircraft missile systems and ammunition for them, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine informed LIGA.net on June 21. For shooting down high-speed drones, an affordable alternative to anti-aircraft missile systems could be interceptor drones, Vitaliy "Bravo", head of the communications department of the Armed Forces of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Force, told us.
According to the General Staff, the supply of air defense systems and guided anti-aircraft missiles to them remains a problematic issue.
The command noted that there needs to be "many times more" of such weapons to reliably protect cities and critical infrastructure facilities.
At the same time, the chief communicator of the Unmanned Systems Forces told LIGA.net that interceptor drones could become an affordable alternative to anti-aircraft missile systems against high-speed drones like the Shahed jet-powered drones.
However, this requires echeloning of positions (arranging them in depth in several lines) and training a large number of crews for interceptors, Bravo noted.
- The military official also said that mobile fire groups are still relevant, but in the context of massive mixed Russian attacks, interceptor drones are more effective.
- In an article for LIGA.net, analyst Badrak reported that Ukraine has its own privately developed anti-aircraft missile system, but its mass production is being hampered by the position of the Ministry of Defense's Defense Procurement Agency. In response, the Agency stated that it also purchases anti-aircraft systems from Ukrainian manufacturers.
