Exclusive: Ukraine’s Techno Taras Budget Interceptor Drone Detailed to Militarnyi

The Ukrainian military uses the Techno Taras interceptor drone to shoot down Russian reconnaissance UAVs.

The Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation, which contributed to its development, told Militarnyi about some of the drone’s characteristics.

The purpose of the drone is to deprive the Russian invaders of the ability to conduct reconnaissance using drones. The drone manufacturer is not disclosed due to security reasons.

The Foundation’s involvement was to advise the manufacturer on an effective tether that would be able to operate on the front line, where there are many enemy electronic warfare devices, as well as to find optimal solutions for components and test prototypes directly in the army.

“Our goal is to close the eyes of the Russians to the maximum extent possible, wherever we can. Now we have an effective solution. We see that the number of requests for this product is very high,” says Andrii Shuvalov, director of the Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation.

The fund is currently collecting money for these interceptor drones.

“The foundation’s work is not only to transfer a certain nomenclature, but also to teach how to use it, to provide a turnkey solution: from request to use,” he added.

These and similar Ukrainian drones actually replace the expensive anti-aircraft missiles that the Defense Forces had to spend to shoot down Russian recon drones.

The Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation said that the cost of one Techno Taras drone was $1,600. It has a secure digital daytime video link.

At night, it has an analog thermal imaging camera that transmits its image to the ground via a secure digital connection. It is equipped with a 600-gram warhead placed in the nose.

The system includes 20 drones: 15 day drones and 5 night drones. It also includes a ground control station and a catapult.

“We may change the systems, have more day planes, fewer night planes, or increase it. The catapult and the ground station are a one-time supply, and then we will reinforce the units with the boards,” says Bohdan Danyliv, head of the military department of the Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation.

“Two Merlins, with an estimated cost of $300,000+, is actually a big loss in the enemy’s intelligence capabilities. Because a $1600 Techno Taras board shoots down such boards as Merlin, which costs $300,000, and in general, the efficiency of its use is very high,” adds Danyliv.

“If we are talking about shooting down enemy drones in price terms, the cost of our used boards is estimated at UAH 8-10 million. And the value of downed enemy UAVs is more than UAH 500 million, and this is a very interesting figure because we show that one donated hryvnia turns into 52 hryvnias of destroyed enemy reconnaissance drones,” said the head of the foundation’s military department.

Techno Taras can stay in the air for more than an hour and reaches a speed of 160 km/h, which is enough to intercept Russian UAVs.

The range is up to 35 km and the ceiling is 6000 meters. The airframe, initiation board, and warhead are made in Ukraine. Domestic engines are expected to be used.

“We immediately realized that it would most likely be more efficient to work by air, as it would mean more time in the air, more opportunities for speed, even a practical ceiling – it is about 6 km for this vehicle,” said Kyrylo Liukov, head of the unmanned technologies department at the Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation.

The main advantage, in his opinion, is the secure digital “long-range communication that provides a large radius of operation and can work stably up to 35 km in the combat zone.”

“There were cases that worked further, but this is more of an exception to the rule. The detection device itself did not allow us to fly further there. In general, it covers the entire tactical radius of the detection device,” added Kyrylo Liukov.

Prior to receiving the Techno Taras interceptors, the military personnel who will use them undergo training at the Boryviter school. The skills acquired allow them to shoot down enemy UAVs more effectively.

As of today, 274 boards have been issued to various units. Of these, they have already used 160, which have shot down 133 enemy UAVs. Thus, at the time of publication, the downing rate is 83%.

The foundation notes that the use of these interceptors has significantly reduced the number of enemy reconnaissance aircraft over the positions of Ukrainian defenders and frontline cities. “Techno Taras” is already being intercepted by Russian Merlins, Orlans, Zala, SuperCam, etc.

If the project is scaled up, these drones can close the sky from Russian reconnaissance in frontline settlements and over large cities in general. But this requires trained people and appropriate infrastructure to detect enemy drones.

Russia complains about Ukrainian interceptor drones and is looking for ways to counter them. In particular, they have started installing an additional camera on reconnaissance drones to detect Ukrainian interceptors and automatically evade attacks.