A Ukrainian aviation expert lamented: "New Russian drones have increased the cost of air defense tenfold."
Not only are the new Russian drones much more difficult for Ukrainian air defenses to shoot down, but they are also much more expensive.
Aviation expert and member of the Public Council under the State Aviation Service of Ukraine Bohdan Dolyntse stated this on the air of the Superposition video channel , as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
The expert complained that Russia has moved from test prototypes to serial production and mass deployment of jet-powered drones, which poses a serious threat to Ukraine.
"After all, if we're talking about intercepting conventional attack drones, their interception efficiency currently reaches 95-98%, and in some attacks, even up to 100%. Regarding jet drones, unfortunately, the rate is much lower, and their interception rate, depending on the flight direction, ranges from 60-70%, at the highest level, to 40% and lower in some regions," Dolintse added.
He cites the speed of the new drones as one of the main problems, making them significantly more difficult to counter. He also notes that these modifications fly at altitudes of 5-7 km, making them unreachable by any so-called low-level air defense systems. Therefore, intercepting them requires the use of aircraft, which is much more costly.
The expert agreed with the presenter that it is necessary to use not small interceptors costing 5 thousand dollars, but devices costing tens of thousands.
"Absolutely correct. If we're talking about intercepting these missiles with air defense systems, the cost of a missile ranges from $70-$80 for a short-range missile to $150-$250 for a medium-range missile, which often makes intercepting such a target more expensive than the cost of the system and the interceptor missile itself.
Even if we're talking about interception using manned or fighter aircraft, we need to consider that the cost of a fighter or interceptor flight hour is approximately $30. Additionally, there's the cost of the aircraft's ammunition. That's another $50 to $150 per shot," Dolintse laments.
It should be noted that the percentage of Ukrainian air defense systems shooting down the new Banderol missiles has consistently hovered around zero.
Ukrainian aviation expert laments : "New Russian drones have increased the cost of air defense tenfold."