"Mykhailo Fedorov said on Tuesday that Kyiv had rolled out a program inviting defense companies to test their small interceptor drones in Ukraine, paying them $20,000 for each Shahed drone their product destroyed. "At the time, no one believed in it," Fedorov said at a press briefing. "But now, by this month, 40,000 interceptors are expected to be delivered to the military.""
"Fedorov, who was appointed defense minister last week, said the payment program had focused on the Chernihiv area, which sits between Kyiv and Russia's western border. Long-range attack drones launched from that border must fly over Chernihiv to reach the Ukrainian capital, and the region thus sees some of the heaviest Shahed flight traffic. Interceptor drones in Ukraine are generally small, first-person-view drones designed to fly at high speed to catch Russia's Gerans, delta-wing explosive-carrying drones closely based on the Iranian Shahed."
Ukraine will receive 40,000 interceptor drones in January after a program that pays defense firms $20,000 for each Russian Shahed their systems destroy. The program invited companies, mostly from NATO countries, to test small, high-speed first-person-view interceptor drones on the battlefield. The effort concentrated on Chernihiv because many long-range Geran/Shahed flights transit that corridor to reach Kyiv. Geran variants cruise near 6,500 feet and reach up to 115 mph. Russia often launches hundreds at once, so Ukraine emphasizes keeping interceptor costs low; typical interceptors cost several thousand dollars while the reward-funded buys scale supply rapidly.
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