Ukraine on Thursday said it could down Russian drones from thousands of kilometers away, after a lawmaker said he had controlled a drone interceptor from outside the country.
Kyiv prides itself on its drone technology, which it has extensively developed since Russia invaded in 2022, and has repeatedly touted the effectiveness of its interceptor drones that it says are not found anywhere else in the world.
“Ukraine is the first in the world to systematically scale up remote control of interceptor drones,” Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said on Telegram on Thursday.
“Today, we have confirmed results — the downing of targets at distances of hundreds and thousands of kilometers,” he said.
Fedorov did not say when or where the downing had taken place — but Ukrainian drone manufacturer Wild Hornets announced last week a drone pilot controlled an interceptor using its technology “while abroad.”
The interceptor was “operating in northern Ukraine.”
Ukrainian lawmaker Marian Zablotskiy said on Tuesday that it was him who had operated the interceptor, calling it a “historic experiment.”
“I piloted an FPV interceptor drone first from my office, then from right in front of the state border, and then from somewhere about 2,000 km away from the drone itself — from abroad,” Zablotskiy said on social media.
Zablotskiy said earlier he had undergone a drone pilot training and signed a contract with volunteer territorial defense formations.
“I consider this breakthrough a decisive factor in finally stopping the Russian offensive,” Zablotskiy said.
Wild Hornets confirmed to AFP it was Zablotskiy who had been navigating the interceptor and that the company wanted the remote control system to “become the primary method of drone control.”
“The pilot is no longer tied to a specific location. The drone is in the sky — controlled from a secure environment in Kyiv, Lviv, or even abroad,” Fedorov said.
He said that more than 10 drone manufacturers have “integrated this solution into their systems.”
