Russia’s Jet-Powered Geran-5 Drone Complicates Ukraine’s Air Defense

Russia's new jet-powered Geran-5 drone is significantly harder for Ukraine to intercept than earlier models, forcing Kyiv to rethink its air-defense strategy against Moscow's expanding drone campaign. The Geran-5 flies about 150 km/h faster than the Geran-4, requiring interceptors to attack from the front, a far more difficult task, according to a Ukrainian defense engineer. It carries a roughly 90 kg warhead and costs about $115,000, more than older piston-powered drones but far less than conventional cruise missiles. Russia can produce around 3,000 jet-powered Geran drones monthly, with jet models sometimes comprising two-thirds of daily launches. Ukraine intercepts only 57% of them, prompting development of faster interceptors like the STING S and jet-powered Alexa Spatium to close the gap.