This small kamikaze helicopter defends Ukraine from Shahed drones

AI Summary

Ukraine is deploying small kamikaze interceptor drones to defend against faster and more sophisticated Iranian-designed Shahed drones launched by Russia. This new drone technology has been used in Eastern Ukraine since last summer to counter repeated long-range missile and drone attacks.

Russia’s long-range attacks on Ukraine usually involve a combination of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles. The drones, mostly based on the Iranian ‘Shahed’ design, are getting faster, more sophisticated, and more numerous – but since last summer Ukraine has been deploying a powerful new weapon in defending against them: the interceptor drone. Our correspondent Gulliver Cragg spent a day with one of the teams using them to defend the skies over Eastern Ukraine.