Russia expands use of jet-powered drones as Ukraine seeks countermeasures

Russia is increasing its reliance on jet-powered and missile-guided drones to overcome Ukrainian air defenses, according to military analysts consulted by RBC-Ukraine. New variants of the Geran and Banderol systems are reported to fly faster than the widely used Shahed loitering munitions, reducing the time Ukrainian radar and missile units have to detect and engage them.

"The Russians are increasingly establishing mass production of jet drones and missile drones and are increasingly using them to strike the territory of Ukraine," said Anton Zemlyanyi, senior analyst at the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation.

The higher speed of these drones narrows the reaction window for systems such as Patriot, SAMP/T and IRIS-T, which, while capable of engaging fast targets, involve costly missiles that may be uneconomical against relatively cheap drones. Ukraine is therefore exploring cheaper interceptor options, including domestically produced drones similar to the P1-Sun model, though their effectiveness against the fastest Russian drones remains uncertain.

Defense analyst Oleh Katkov noted that the term “jet drone” now covers a range of weapons, some of which, like the Geran-4 and Geran-5, approach cruise-missile performance. He added that large-scale production is constrained by the availability of jet engines, which are more complex and expensive than those used in Shahed drones, and that Russia may depend on components sourced from Chinese private firms.

Ukraine has also been developing its own jet-powered drones, such as the Bars and Palyanytsya, which have been used in strikes against targets in occupied territories and inside Russia. These Ukrainian systems face similar trade-offs between speed, payload capacity and production cost.

Experts do not expect jet drones to fully replace either Shahed loitering munitions or cruise missiles. While they offer a middle ground—greater speed than Shaheds and lower cost than missiles—they lack the advanced navigation, electronics and warhead capabilities of true cruise missiles. The evolving dynamic is likely to result in a mix of improved air-defence assets, affordable interceptor drones and expanding fleets of high-speed attack drones on both sides.