The Ministry of Defense began contracting interceptors against the Shaheds in May 2025 – could it have been earlier
The Defense Procurement Agency (AOZ) began the process of contracting interceptor drones against the Russian Federation's Shaheds in May 2025, according to a response to LIGA.net's request, provided by a state-owned enterprise of the Ministry of Defense.
"The Agency began contracting interceptor drones [to counter Russian attacks by Shaheds and other strike UAVs] in May 2025," the Defense Ministry's department, responsible for procuring weapons for the Ukrainian military, said.
At the same time, they refused to say which model or models of such interceptors the AOZ had contracted for the first time, as this information is classified as "for official use only."
In the Agency added to LIGA.net, as of July 30, 2025, it has concluded state contracts for interceptors worth UAH 3.34 billion.
There are four contracts in total, three of which were signed in July
On July 23, the newly appointed minister of Defense Denys Shmyhal reported that four state contracts have been concluded with manufacturers of interceptor drones.
Head of the AOZ Arsen Zhumadilov on the same day claimed that, in particular, three contracts were signed on July 22.
According to a non-governmental organization, the Anti-Corruption Action Center, the first of four contracts was signed at the end of June.
Could it have been contracted earlier
Since the summer of 2024, defenders have begun to use interceptor UAVs primarily as kamikaze drones, explained in an article for LIGA.net military analyst Valentin Badrak, noting that such interceptions were mostly related to Russian reconnaissance drones, as Shahed UAVs are much more difficult to intercept.
First video of a Ukrainian drone successfully shooting down Shahed appeared in May 2025 – it was about the Sting interceptor drone created by the Wild Hornets group.
Fundraising for the production of Sting interceptors "Hornets" for the first time announced at the end of October 2024.
"So if the state had a single decision-making center for the development of all unmanned systems and related innovative solutions, and if the defense and industrial ministries worked in wartime mode, Ukrainian cities would not have faced the destruction of residential areas by Russia in the summer of 2025," expressed his opinion to LIGA.net Badrak.
- In early July, the head of the Unmanned Systems Force, Robert "Magyar" Brovdi, said that an analysis of intelligence data shows: Russia will be able to use more than 1000 Shaheds per day to strike Ukraine.
- At the end of July, president Zelenskyy reported that a plan was approved to use 500-1000 interceptor drones per day to shoot down Russian drones.
Comments (0)