Ukraine needs approximately 3,000 interception assets per month to effectively shoot down Russian Shahed-type attack drones. This figure corresponds to the number of drones Russia can launch in a single month, according to Valerii Romanenko, a research fellow at the State Aviation Museum of Ukraine, as per Espreso.
The issue is not sporadic peak attacks, but a sustained, systemic level of drone use that Moscow has been able to maintain over an extended period.
Around-the-clock drone attacks on cities and villages: who suffers most
The Russian military launches drones against Ukrainian cities and villages continuously, without pauses, even during daylight hours. The areas most affected include:
- border regions,
- settlements close to the front line,
- zones where the enemy actively employs guided FPV drones.
This turns drones into a tool of constant attrition against civilian infrastructure and the population.
"100 Shaheds per day" is Russia's current ceiling
According to Romanenko, 3,000 Shahed drones per month translates to roughly 100 drones per day, which currently represents the upper limit of Russia’s production and deployment capacity.
“The Russians produce about 3,000 Shaheds per month. That means 100 Shaheds per day,” the expert notes.
However, even a single Shahed can destroy an entire building or several floors of a residential building.
Why Russia cannot strike with "1,000 drones every day"
Romanenko explains that Russian forces can sharply increase the intensity of attacks only after stockpiling drones in advance.
In theory, Russia could launch up to 1,000 Shaheds in a single day, but such scenarios are exceptional, not routine. The largest single mass attack recorded so far involved around 800 drones.
Five to six mass drone raids per month: the real pattern
According to the expert, large-scale drone attacks occur about five times per month, with a maximum of six.
“You can see that mass raids happen five, at most six times a month. And they are still not at the level of 1,000 drones,” Romanenko says.
This confirms that pauses between attacks do not indicate a weakening of the Russians, but rather preparation for the next wave.
Artificial intelligence versus drones: launch of Brave1 Dataroom with Palantir
On 21 January, Ukraine launched the Brave1 Dataroom platform in partnership with the US technology company Palantir.
The project is designed to test and train new artificial intelligence models for military use. At the initial stage, Brave1 Dataroom focuses on:
- autonomous detection of Russian UAVs,
- drone interception systems,
- analysis of large-scale battlefield data.
This AI platform enables Ukrainian defense companies to:
- train their own AI models,
- test them in scenarios close to real combat conditions,
- accelerate the deployment of innovations into Ukraine’s air defense system.
This lays the groundwork for shifting from purely quantitative countermeasures to technological deterrence against drone attacks.
Frequently asked questions
Ukraine has introduced a new generation of domestically produced, AI-powered interceptor drones, such as the "Salyut," designed specifically to hunt and destroy Shahed-type munitions. These systems utilize advanced software to lock onto targets autonomously, allowing them to bypass electronic jamming and operate effectively during mass aerial attacks.
Current data shows that Russia is launching an average of 100 Shahed drones per day, totaling approximately 3,000 per month. Ukraine must match this volume with a dedicated interceptor fleet to prevent these low-cost targets from overwhelming and exhausting the country's existing air defense infrastructure.
Traditional surface-to-air missiles can cost millions of dollars, while interceptor drones are significantly cheaper, ranging from $2,500 to $5,000 per unit. By using these cost-effective drones to neutralize Shaheds, Ukraine can reserve its high-end missile systems for more sophisticated threats like ballistic and cruise missiles.
