By Olha Hembik | 2025-12-18

WARSAW -- It sounds like science fiction: dozens of small drones rising over Ukraine at once, forming an airborne barrier to intercept incoming Russian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Controlled by a single operator, the swarm would chip away at enemy drones before they reach cities or critical infrastructure.

That is the promise of the DWS-1 system, developed by French startup Atreyd and slated for real-world testing in Ukraine, according to a November Business Insider report.

Atreyd said the drones can operate without GPS, relying instead on a 3D map, a key advantage amid heavy electronic jamming. The drones can fly at several thousand meters and use identification systems to avoid friendly fire.

The company described the system as a flying minefield designed to counter mass drone attacks. Initial deployments will target Iranian-designed Shaheds and their Russian variants, Gerans and Gerberas. Later, the system could also be used against guided bombs near the front line.

Shorter ranges

Russia has sharply increased its use of Shahed drones in southern Ukraine. Southern Defense Forces spokesman Vladyslav Voloshyn said Russian forces launched 916 Shahed strikes in September and 891 in October. Ukrinform reported the heaviest concentration of attacks in the Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions.

In the Dnipropetrovsk region, Russian forces have adopted a new tactic: launching Shaheds from much closer to the front line.

A UAV operator with the call sign Skif from the 3rd Mechanized Battalion of the Separate Presidential Brigade told Radio Liberty in December that since summer, the enemy has repeatedly used Shaheds against populated areas at distances of less than 20 kilometers (about 12 miles).

Russian troops increasingly rely on UAVs rather than rockets or Grad multiple-launch rocket systems to strike frontline settlements, Skif said.

"Now they've realized it is cheaper to do it with Shaheds," he added.

Previously, Shaheds were mainly used as long-range weapons, launched from 200 to 400 kilometers (124 to 249 miles) away. Skif said they are now treated as expendable tools for short-range strikes. If Russian forces want to destroy something in the near rear, they do not hesitate to use them in large numbers.

Wolfpack tactics

Russian forces continue to upgrade Shaheds, expanding their capabilities and increasing their threat to civilian targets.

Viktor Kevlyuk, an expert at the Center for Defense Strategies, told Radio Liberty that the drones are now equipped with cameras, thermal imagers, modems and artificial intelligence elements that allow real-time trajectory adjustment. That makes them more effective against moving targets at close range, including trains and vehicle convoys.

Since summer 2025, Russia has shifted to what Kevlyuk described as "wolfpack tactics," launching large numbers of drones simultaneously to overwhelm defenses.

The evolution has included weapons integration. On December 1, a Russian Shahed was found equipped with an R-60 air-to-air missile for the first time, according to Ukrainian electronic warfare expert Serhii Beskrestnov. He said in his December 1 post on Facebook that the configuration was intended to destroy helicopters and tactical aircraft attempting to hunt Shaheds.

Oleksandr Antonyuk, a political consultant and Ukrainian serviceman, told Kontur the prolonged war has transformed drones from auxiliary tools for reconnaissance and strikes into strategic weapons. He said drones are relatively inexpensive, will continue to improve with artificial intelligence and will be produced in ever-greater numbers.

Antonyuk said Russia's progress in this area relies heavily on Chinese technology.

"Because jet engines are not a Russian innovation, but a Chinese one," he said.

Kevlyuk said Russia has increased Shahed production to about 170 to 190 units per day, enabling more than 1,000 launches a week against Ukraine.

No cheap defense

As the threat evolves, cheap and simple countermeasures remain elusive. Defense Express experts said in September there is no low-cost solution to mass drone attacks and that developers often gloss over this reality.

Ukraine has adapted repeatedly. Mobile machine-gun teams were initially effective against Shaheds, but Russia responded by increasing drone flight altitudes. When Ukraine began deploying interceptor drones, Russia moved to mass production of jet-powered Geran-3s, which are faster than propeller-driven interceptors.

Defense Express said the side developing offensive weapons tends to retain the initiative, because it can study defenses and adjust future attacks accordingly.

Andriy Kharuk, a military equipment researcher and professor at the Hetman Petro Sahaidachnyi National Ground Forces Academy, said the idea of a "drone wall" raises practical limits. A swarm of several hundred drones could remain airborne for only tens of minutes, while Shahed attacks on cities often last for hours.

"They fly up and strike or repel, so to speak, the first wave of Shaheds," Kharuk told Kontur. After that, the drones must recharge or be replaced if the attack continues.

Kharuk noted that the concept of static aerial defenses is not new. During World Wars I and II, barrage balloons created obstacles for enemy aircraft at far lower cost. He said the drone wall revives that idea with modern technology.

Countering a drone swarm ultimately requires comparable tools, Antonyuk said. If the enemy attacks with a swarm, only an equal force using similar means can repel it.

Atreyd says its system is designed to keep costs down, with each interception costing only a few thousand dollars. Unexploded drones can return to their launch pads and be reused. Artificial intelligence allows the wall to reconfigure itself in response to incoming threats, including guided bombs.

Yaroslav Filimonov, head of Kvertus, which developed the Atlas integrated drone defense system, said such AI-driven systems are expected on the battlefield.

"Similar technological innovations will fundamentally change how combat is conducted," he told Kontur.