Summary Ukraine developed kamikaze interceptor drone by Besomar, capable of both reconnaissance and destroying Russian drones. The interceptor drone has a range of 50-60km, flies at an altitude of 4km, and reaches speeds of 160-170 km/h. To impact the war significantly, production of interceptor drones needs to be massively increased to outpace Russian drone numbers.
In early June 2024, Simple Flying reported on a new development on the drone war in Ukraine . Then, a new form of Ukrainian drone-hunter drone was observed (from first-person footage) over the battleground and was destroying Russian reconnaissance drones high above the front lines. Simple Flying noted that time was needed to know if this was scalable and would prove a significant, effective, and cheap counter to massed Russian recon drones.
Now, in September, more information has come to light to create a more complete picture. Ukraine confirmed to developed kamikaze interceptor drone According to the Ukrainian news outlet Militarnyi , the company that developed the "kamikaze interceptor" drone is the Ukrainian company Besomar. Roman Shemechko, a representative of Besomar, stated, " It's like a big FPV, like a plane that can stay in the air longer and carry more weight .
" Shemechko also explained the interceptor drone is a low-cost drone that is not only able to destroy Russian drones but is also able to carry out reconnaissance missions. The latest versions of the kamikaze interceptor have also been equipped with an air brake (this also allows the drone to " avoid the enemy's drone and neutralize it in a timely manner ." The drone is reported to have a range of 50-60km (31–37 miles) and an altitude of 4km (2.
5 miles). Its speed is 160 to 170 km/h (100 to 105 miles per hour). Drones are so important to this war that Ukraine has formed the world's first dedicated "drone force," or Unmanned System Forces , as an independent branch of the military.
In an apparent world-first, Ukraine may have shot down a Russian military helicopter with a 2-pound FPV drone. Scaling up further is critical The company added that it can produce up to 100 "kamikaze interceptor" drones per month. Still, to greatly impact the war, the production will likely need to be massively increased.
When the interceptor drones were first observed in combat a few months ago, open-source analyst Andrew Perpetua stated , " If this is repeatable, if this is scalable, if Ukraine can do this 100 times a day or 200 times a day, it would be game-changing. That's roughly how many drones Russia uses, I think..
. It doesn't have to be 200 a day; it has to be enough to outpace Russian production. " Andrew Perpetua stressed the importance of reconnaissance drones for Russia to have eyes on the battlefield and direct fire, saying, " Russia's recon drones are essentially their entire military power.
.. .
..without these recon drones, the Russian military is nothing.
" Meanwhile, as a promising sign of things to come, the Ukrainian 93rd Mechanized Brigade has released a video compilation showing their unit alone destroying 36 ZALA, 7 Supercam, 5 Orlan, and 1 Lancet drone. Much of the battle with drones is one of economics. It is critical for each side to find cheaper ways to counter the other's capabilities.
It is just completely impractical to use limited and expensive interceptor missiles to counter masses of cheap Russian drones. These Kamakize drones are considered much cheaper than the Russian recon drones, which are believed to cost between 5 and 6 figures..
