The ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia has showcased the potential of drone warfare and just how effective they can be. The interceptor drones, in particular, have emerged as a key combat tool that has even managed to down enemy aerial vehicles carrying missiles. Now, the country’s defense wing is making them as speedy as a hypercar. Mykhailo Federov, the First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, has shared details on a new iteration of the interceptor drone that can reach a top speed of 400 kilometers per hour (or 248.5 mph).
At the heart of this next-gen drone are engines supplied by Motor-G, a company that’s part of Brave1, the Ukrainian government’s platform for collaboration in the defense tech industry. So far, the technical details of the underlying engine are under wraps, but the drone’s speed milestone is still pretty impressive. For comparison, it’s faster than hypercars such as the iconic McLaren F1, the 2026 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 (233 mph), Ferrari SF90 Stradale (211 mph), 2021 Pagani Huayra R (221 mph), and the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ (221 mph), Ferrari La Ferrari (218 mph), and the Pininfarina Battista (222 mph), among others.
The technical achievement is remarkable, especially for a country that is not among the world’s top destinations for defense tech innovations. However, Ukraine’s next-gen interceptor drone is still not the fastest out there. The current speed record is held by an Australian drone enthusiast named Benjamin Biggs, whose DIY drone cruised at a peak downwind speed of 407 mph. It’s worth noting that Biggs’ kit was a DIY drone tailored solely for top speed, while Ukraine’s interceptor drones are engineered differently to neutralize aerial weapons. But why faster drones, instead of beefing up their attack potential? Well, there are a handful of broad tactical advantages.
It could shift the tide
Fast drones speed up response times to enemy attacks and reduce the risk of human casualties. Ukraine’s next-gen interceptor drone, with its increased speed, could prove decisively effective against more powerful aerial weapons. As per a report by ABC News, the success rate of Ukraine’s interceptor drones has fallen against the barrage of Russian drones and missiles. Citing data shared by the country’s air force, the report notes that in October, Ukraine managed to neutralize only 4,242 of the 5,312 drones, the lowest figure in 2025.
Defense analysts note that the “dramatically increasing number of drones” in the enemy arsenal is one of the key reasons behind the falling interception rates. The report further adds that in the face of intensifying Russian drone and missile attacks, it’s evidently too expensive for Ukraine to deploy missiles to thwart those attacks. A speedy drone could prove to be a decisive advantage. As per a report by Bloomberg, Ukraine’s drones “can immobilize or even destroy a tank or other large piece of machinery worth hundreds of thousands of dollars — sometimes millions.”
To negate their threat, Russia has reportedly started prioritizing speed over armor or offensive chops, even resorting to sending troops on motorcycles and electric scooters. Against such fast-moving groups, an aerial vehicle that outpaces them could prove to be a winning strategy for Ukraine’s drone makers. The Associated Press separately reports that Russia’s suicide drones are “now flying faster and at higher altitudes,” which further raises the stakes for Ukraine to deploy faster drones into the battlefield against evolving attack vectors. A drone that flies at roughly 248 mph will also be a potent countermeasure to Russia’s Shahed-238 and Germany’s Geran-3 drones, which move at 230 mph, in the aerial battlefield.
