Ukraine’s ex-defense minister unveiled a new interceptor built for Russia's fastest drones. He wants AI to help fly it.
Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's former defense minister, has developed a new interceptor drone.
Kyodo via Reuters Connect Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's digital-focused former defense minister, has unveiled a new interceptor.
The interceptor is in testing and has already downed Russia's fastest jet-powered drone, the Geran-5.
Fedorov told Business Insider this week that he plans to be producing hundreds a month by the end of the year.
Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's former defense minister who pushed for rapid innovation in war technology, has unveiled a new interceptor designed to take down Russia's fastest attack drones.
The new interceptor drone is currently flown by a human pilot, but Fedorov said in comments shared with Business Insider that he intends to make it autonomous in flight using artificial intelligence.
He aims to be producing hundreds of interceptors a month by the end of the year.
Ukraine is increasingly turning to AI-enabled autonomous drones and robots that can continue fighting when electronic warfare severs the connection between systems and operators.
The interceptor that Fedorov unveiled is the latest model developed by Ukrainian engineers to combat the rise in Russian jet-powered drones , weapons which are much faster than their propeller-powered predecessors and pose a significant challenge for Kyiv's air defenses.
It also reflects a broader shift toward interceptors equipped with artificial intelligence that can fly with less human input.
Ukrainian defense firms have developed several new interceptors capable of engaging Russia's fastest drone, the Geran-5 , which is powered by a mini turbojet engine and able to reach speeds of up to 375 mph.
It's unclear how fast the interceptor can fly, but in recent combat tests over Kyiv, a specialized unit of Ukraine's National Guard used it to take down two Geran-5 drones.
Fedorov said that testing is ongoing.
The next steps are to improve the technology and scale up production.
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