Ukraine's military got twice as many interceptor drones in the first months of 2026 as in all of 2025, Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said on Telegram on the evening of 27 April. The Defense Ministry is using three parallel channels to scale supply for Ukraine's "small" air defense, which downed a record number of Russian UAVs in March.
Twice the 2025 supply in early 2026
The Defense Procurement Agency, known as AOZ DOT, delivered that doubling on its own contracts alone, Fedorov said. Supply is coming through three parallel channels: direct contracts with AOZ DOT, the Army of Drones. Bonus program, and the DOT-Chain Defense weapons marketplace. Using different approaches keeps the supply uninterrupted while allowing volumes to scale up, Fedorov said.
Hundreds of times cheaper than missile defense
Anti-Shahed drones are a technological answer to the enemy, Fedorov said. They cost hundreds of times less than missile systems and dozens of times less than the Shaheds they bring down, allowing Ukraine to use its budget as effectively as possible. The interceptors have already proven effective in combat and have substantially boosted Ukraine's air defense, the minister noted. They reduce the load on missile-based air defense, freeing up those resources to take down Russian missiles.
In March alone, interceptor drones downed more than 33,000 Russian UAVs of various types — a record, Fedorov said. Ukraine's broader interception success rate climbed to 89.9% that month, up from 80.2% in December.
