Jet Interceptor Drone Shot Down Small-Sized Geran-5 Cruise Missile

The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) successfully shot down a small Geran-5 cruise missile using a new jet-powered interceptor drone.

A video of the interception was released by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“Report from SSU Director Oleksandr Poklad. The SSU’s military counterintelligence has achieved a positive result in countering jet-powered Shahed drones. A new interceptor drone has been developed and has already been successfully deployed. Step by step, we are moving forward to provide Ukraine with greater protection. Thank you to all the developers and manufacturers who work every day to scale up the weapons we need,” the President said.

Judging by the published video, the new interceptor has a delta-shaped wing and is launched from the ground using a catapult.

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This is the second Ukrainian interceptor to be publicly unveiled after Alexa Spatium. In total, as of the end of August, Ukraine had field-tested four types of interceptor drones to counter the Geran jet drones.

Geran-5

The Geran-5 differs significantly from previous models in its aerodynamic design and more closely resembles a small cruise missile rather than Shahed or Geran-type drones with delta wings.

The aircraft is approximately 6 meters long, with a wingspan of up to 5.5 meters. The missile is equipped with a Chinese TELEFLY TF-TJ2000A rocket engine with a thrust of 200 kgf. The Geran-5 can be launched both from aircraft, such as Su-25 attack aircraft, and from a ground-based launcher.

The Geran-5 carries a 90-kilogram warhead, and its stated strike range reaches approximately 1,000 kilometers.

To guide the missile to its target, the occupiers use the 12-channel Kometa satellite navigation system, a tracker based on a Raspberry Pi microcomputer, and 3G/4G modems.

According to an assessment by the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, the Geran-5 is a Russian replica of the Iranian Karrar drone.

Its cruising speed reaches 450–600 kilometers per hour, which significantly exceeds even that of the Geran-4. Its maximum flight altitude is estimated to be 6 kilometers.

The first recorded use of this new small-sized winged missile by the occupiers against Ukraine was in January 2026. Since then, their number has been gradually increasing, though it remains significantly lower than the number of Geran-4 missiles.