Ukrainian companies developing jet-powered interceptor UAVs

Image from the Kremlin's 9 May 2026 Victory Day parade video showing a Geran-5 OWA UAV during launch. (Russian Presidential Administration)

At least two unnamed Ukrainian companies are in the testing phase of jet-powered interceptor unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), Ihor Fedirko, CEO of the Ukrainian Council of Defence Industry (UCDI) told Janes on 8 June 2026.

“One of those companies shot down a Geran drone one week ago [early June] using a jet-powered interceptor,” Fedirko said. He did not yet wish to reveal the names of the companies involved in the development and production of the interceptors.

While Fedirko said that the Geran shot down was not equipped with a turbojet engine, he added that jet-powered interceptors may become an effective weapon against Russia's long-range turbojet Geran OWA UAVs.

The strategy around destroying these OWA UAVs may need to evolve alongside new technology. The superheated exhaust gases from the turbojet generate the forward thrust of the OWA UAV. “It's very difficult to intercept [the jet-powered OWA UAVs],” Fedirko added. “We have to shoot down the jet-powered Gerans with our own jet-powered solution.”

“When they [Ukrainian interceptors] are able to reach more than 350 km/h a lot of them [tend to] target the engine of the [jet-powered] Geran because the interceptors have infrared [IR] sensors,” he said.

Russia's OWA UAVs

Russia is planning for 50% of its long-range OWA UAVs used against Ukraine to be jet-powered, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine General Oleksandr Syrskyi said in a 4 June statement on social media. “At a working meeting on countering enemy UAV strikes, I heard proposals for improving the effectiveness of our air defence and further levels of modernisation of domestic interceptors,” Gen Syrskyi also said in the statement.