Air Force: The Russian Federation may accelerate the speed of its combat drones to 800–900 km/h.
Deputy Commander of the Air Force, Yuriy Cherevashenko, stated that Russia may increase the speed of its combat drones to 800–900 km/h, while currently, speeds of up to 600 km/h are being recorded. These drones already account for approximately 40% of Russian drones, and their share could increase to 80%. Ukrainian interceptor drones in the necessary numbers are not expected before the end of November.
Deputy Commander of the Air Force, Yuriy Cherevashenko, at a meeting of the parliamentary Temporary Investigation Commission, stated that Russia may increase the speed of its combat drones used against Ukraine to 800–900 km/h. According to him, Russian combat drones currently do not reach such speeds; they develop up to 600 km/h.
Cherevashenko also reported that since July, Russia has significantly increased its use of cruise drones: currently, they account for approximately 40% of all drones used by the Russian Federation, and the Air Force predicts that this share could increase to 80%.
Ukraine is working on developing jet interceptor drones to counter such targets. They are communicating with 20 companies, and 14 of them are already conducting test flights. Six companies have achieved results in destroying jet drones, and the Air Force considers the results of three companies to be promising. When asked when interceptors will be available in the necessary numbers, Cherevashenko replied: "Not before the end of November."
Cherevashenko oversees the small air defense branch within the Air Force. In September, Colonel Oleksandr Dmykhovsky was appointed as the commander of the direct air defense forces.