The Ukrainian Air Force is in the process of establishing new units dedicated to intercepting Russian Shahed drones, with many crews still in training and yet to record any successful interceptions. Colonel Yuriy Ihnat, head of communications for the Air Force, provided insights during a recent television broadcast.
According to Colonel Ihnat, the majority of the crews mentioned by Colonel Pavlo Yelizarov are newly formed, having recently integrated personnel from ground forces with prior experience in drone operations. He stated,
“A significant portion of the crews are newly established, as we have incorporated two regiments from the Ground Forces that have over a year of experience with interceptor drones. More experience leads to more successful interceptions, while the 170-plus crews mentioned are just starting out,”
he explained.
Colonel Ihnat noted that a new branch of forces focused on drone interception has been created within the Air Force, initially referred to as “unmanned aerial systems for air defense” and now operating as Air Defense Forces.
The coordination of this new direction in small-scale air defense is overseen by Colonel Yevheniy Khlebnkov, Deputy Yuriy Cherevashenko, and Deputy Commander of the Air Force, Pavlo Yelizarov.
He elaborated,
“Since the beginning of the year, we have begun to scale up and create divisions. We have four air commands: West, East, South, and Central. These divisions are being established based on territorial principles, with batteries and commanders being appointed…”
Additionally, Colonel Ihnat mentioned that the formation of new units is actively involving volunteers. He acknowledged that the crews are not yet fully staffed and lack sufficient experience. However, he emphasized that units with longer operational histories in drone interception have shown high effectiveness.
In a prior interview, Deputy Yelizarov indicated that out of more than 300 Air Force crews, only 66 had successfully intercepted more than ten Russian Shahed drones over the past year, while another 170 had not engaged any.
The Ukrainian Air Force is developing new drone interception units, with many crews still in training. While some experienced units have demonstrated effectiveness, a significant number of newly formed crews have yet to achieve operational success.