Ukrainian drone that downed Russia’s rarest spy UAV just bagged its anti-drone interceptor too

Ukraine has destroyed Russia's new anti-drone interceptor for the first time. The 57th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade says it has used a General Cherry AIR interceptor drone to down a Russian Sokol-I anti-drone UAV. 

The shootdown validates the early skepticism Ukrainian and Western defense analysts voiced when Russia first unveiled the Sokol-I. Russian-published specifications listed a 150 km/h top speed, which is identical to the Ukrainian Hornet's cruise speed and below the Hornet's 200 km/h terminal-phase approach, meaning the Sokol-I might not be able to catch the very drones it was built to stop. 

General Cherry AIR: Interceptor that downed Russia's rarest spy drone

The General Cherry AIR is one of Ukraine's most documented interceptor drone platforms. The same system was used to down Russia's "Knyaz Veshchiy Oleg" reconnaissance drone, one of Russia's rarest and most advanced spy UAVs, with a single-system cost above $100,000 in 2025. 

Ukrainian defense-tech company General Cherry (Chereshnia) carried out 11,473 strikes in March 2026 alone, taking out 43% of Russia's Molniya drones.

Russia has been adjusting drone tactics in response to mounting interceptor losses: Russian strike drones now fly with escort UAVs, while Russian reconnaissance drones increasingly conduct high-altitude or brief in-and-out missions to avoid Ukrainian interceptor engagement zones.

Sokol-I specifications: foam-plastic body, kinetic-ramming option

Per Russian Armed Forces data cited by the 57th Brigade, the Sokol-I drone's body is built from foam plastic, a low-cost material common to expendable drones, and its warhead is either remote-detonated or kinetic, designed to ram targets directly.

The 57th Brigade is part of Ukraine's growing inventory of front-line units operating interceptor drones at scale. Ukraine fielded twice as many interceptor drones in the first months of 2026 as in all of 2025, with at least 29 Ukrainian companies licensed for serial interceptor production and orders for systems like the Octopus interceptor alone totaling 8,000 units.