A Ukrainian drone maker says its interceptor took down a Russian Shahed armed with an air-to-air missile

"Wild Hornets, a defense-tech firm making drones for the Ukrainian military, said that the Darknode battalion of Kyiv's 412th Nemesis Brigade used its "Sting" interceptor drone to shoot down a Russian Shahed carrying a Soviet-era air-to-air missile. Alex Roslin, the foreign support coordinator for Wild Hornets, told Business Insider that the recent engagement marks the first time a Sting interceptor has taken down a Shahed-type drone carrying an air-to-air missile."

"Russia's Shahed-style strike drones are typically armed with explosive warheads alone and are designed to dive toward a target before detonating on impact; these one-way attack drones haven't been widely spotted carrying any external munitions. Wild Hornets said in a statement that Russia appears to be using the air-to-air missiles to counter Ukrainian helicopters, one of the tools that Kyiv has relied on to intercept Shahed-type drones. Neither Russia's defense ministry nor its US embassy responded to a request for comment."

Wild Hornets confirmed that a Sting interceptor drone shot down a Russian Shahed-type drone carrying a Soviet-era R-60 air-to-air missile. The Darknode battalion of Kyiv's 412th Nemesis Brigade carried out the engagement. Video captured from the Sting's perspective appears to show a propeller-driven Geran-2, the Russian variant of the Iranian-designed Shahed-136, carrying the missile. Shahed-style strike drones are normally one-way explosive weapons and have not commonly been seen with external munitions. Wild Hornets said Russia appears to be equipping Shaheds with air-to-air missiles to counter Ukrainian helicopters. Alex Roslin said this was the first such interception recorded.

Read at Business Insider