Ukraine uses AI-guided turrets to down Russian jet drones for first time

Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said the automated turrets had already successfully engaged Russian jet-powered drones, including the Geran-5.

The systems use machine vision and artificial intelligence to detect, track and engage targets, reducing their reliance on human operators. Their primary weapon is a machine gun, however, which limits their effective range, Ihnat said.

Russia has increasingly incorporated jet-powered drones into its attacks on Ukraine. Ihnat said Russian forces had launched around 50 such drones on each of the past two nights, alongside conventional Shahed-type attack drones.

The faster drones pose a more difficult interception problem for Ukrainian air defenses. According to Ihnat, Ukrainian forces currently intercept around 85-92% of conventional Shahed-type drones, compared with an estimated 50-70% of jet-powered UAVs.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Oct. 4 that more than 12 specialized turrets designed to counter Russian jet-powered drones had already been deployed in Kyiv, with another eight expected to be installed in Kyiv Oblast shortly.

Some of the systems are being positioned around bridges and other locations where short-range defenses can protect critical infrastructure.

Zelenskyy has said Russia is changing its attack tactics by increasing its use of jet-powered drones and ballistic missiles instead of relying as heavily on conventional Shahed-type drones.

The deployment is part of Ukraine's continuing effort to develop lower-cost ways of intercepting Russian drones without relying exclusively on expensive surface-to-air missiles. The new systems add another short-range defensive layer as both sides rapidly adapt their drone technology and countermeasures.