Interceptor drones destroyed record 33,000 Russian UAVs in March, says Ukraine's defence minister
Ukrainian interceptor drones destroyed a record of more than 33,000 Russian UAVs of various types in March 2026 – twice as many as the previous month.
Source: Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov
Quote: "Interceptor drones are a Ukrainian innovation that has already become a key part of our air defence. In March alone, interceptors shot down more than 33,000 enemy UAVs of various types, including Shahed, Gerbera, Molniya, Zala, Orlan and others. This is twice as many as last month."
Details: Fedorov met with interceptor drone manufacturers to gather feedback and define next steps for protecting Ukraine's skies.
"The key challenge is jet-powered Shaheds. The enemy is scaling up their use, their speed is increasing, and interception is becoming more difficult. Our task is to find a technological solution," he noted.
The minister added that together with manufacturers they analysed products and their readiness, identified bottlenecks and coordinated actions for rapid scaling.
He also said that the Brave1 initiative recently supported 12 technologies under the EU4UA Defence Tech grant programme. Companies will receive up to €150,000 to develop high-speed interceptors (450+ km/h) and advanced air defence systems.
Separately, on the president's instructions, discussions covered contracting for 2026, pilot training, testing ranges, shortages of ground stations, exports and updates to performance evaluation criteria under the Army of Drones. Bonus programme. Solutions are being prepared for each issue.
Fedorov said the government has introduced a reward model for companies that intercept Shahed drones, under which such a drone has already been shot down by an interceptor.
Since 2024, Brave1 has issued more than 40 grants to manufacturers, and around 100 interceptor drone producers are now part of the cluster.
In addition, the Brave1 Dataroom platform is in operation – currently, more than 30 companies are testing, validating and training over 50 AI models to detect and intercept aerial targets in different conditions.
The minister set two key tasks for manufacturers: to develop and scale jet-powered interceptor drones to counter jet-powered Shaheds, and to create alternative guidance systems capable of operating in difficult weather conditions.
"The state, under transparent market conditions, is ready to quickly procure new technologies from manufacturers that effectively complete these tasks and protect Ukraine's skies," he stressed.
Background: Earlier, it was reported that in March 2026, Ukraine's defence forces killed or seriously wounded 33,988 Russian soldiers through UAV strikes. Overall, Russia's losses exceeded 35,000 personnel during the month.
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