Ukraine’s small-scale air defense system for countering strike drones continues to be strengthened and is already demonstrating high effectiveness, said Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi during a regular meeting on enhancing the capabilities of Ukraine’s Defense Forces to counter Russian strike UAVs.
“Units of interceptor drones have been formed, and interception layers have been established. Only in April, more than 2,100 aerial targets were destroyed,” Syrskyi wrote on Telegram following the meeting on Wednesday.
According to him, more than 50% of Russian strike drones are being neutralized in the layers operated by the Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In one month, nearly 950 targets were shot down, including 670 “Shahed” type drones, the Commander-in-Chief reported.
Syrskyi also paid special attention to improving the effectiveness of Air Force air defense operations on the third layer and emphasized the need to strengthen the training of UAV interceptor crews.
“Army aviation of the Ground Forces plays an important role in countering enemy drones. It is expanding its technical capabilities and effectiveness: in April, our helicopter crews destroyed more than 500 enemy UAVs. Their contribution to the fight against ‘Shaheds’ is very significant,” he noted.
The Commander-in-Chief also reported continued implementation of anti-drone protection projects for important administrative centers across Ukraine’s regions.
As previously reported, on March 30 Syrskyi announced the creation of a new Command of Direct Air Defense Cover Forces within the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, responsible for so-called “small-scale air defense.”
According to him, the organizational changes were introduced to strengthen the protection of Ukrainian cities, towns, and critical infrastructure.
“In March, the number of combat sorties by interceptor drones and the number of destroyed targets increased by almost 55% compared to February. Since the beginning of spring, our interceptor UAVs have already destroyed more than 2,300 enemy aerial targets,” the Commander-in-Chief said.
