Ukrainian Company F-Drones Develops Low-Cost F-Jet 80 Interceptor to Counter Shaheds

Ukrainian company F-Drones is developing the F-Jet 80, a jet-powered interceptor drone designed to counter Russian jet-powered strike drones.

The New York Times reported this.

The new drone is being positioned as a low-cost interception system, with a target price of around $7,000.

To improve accuracy, engineers plan to equip the interceptor with artificial intelligence to help detect and pursue aerial targets.

In comments to Militarnyi, the developers said the project aims to create an interceptor powered by a compact jet engine producing 8-10 kgf of thrust.

One of the main development challenges is keeping the drone’s cost low. The developers aim to keep the price between $5,000 and $7,000 to enable simple, mass production.

Thanks to its jet engine, the F-Jet 80 is intended to counter Russian Geran-type jet-powered drones.

According to Ihor, an engineer-designer at the company, the drone has already intercepted and destroyed several targets.

Russia is expanding its use of jet-powered strike drones in its war against Ukraine. Traditional kamikaze drones powered by internal combustion engines fly relatively slowly, making them easy targets for Ukrainian interceptor drones.

Jet engines allow drones to fly faster and pass through areas covered by air defense systems more quickly.

Militarnyi previously reported that Russia had increased production of Geran-4 and Geran-5 jet-powered strike drones to 4,000 units per month. This is twice the production volume of piston-powered Geran-2 drones.

Meanwhile, intelligence data indicate that Russia produces around 2,000 piston-powered Geran-2 drones each month.