Ukrainian defense companies are racing to build interceptors for Russia jet-powered drones in Ukraine at the MSPO defense industry show in Kielce, Poland. General Cherry says its Bullet interceptor should reach some 450 km/h, while Grim Tech is pushing a faster design as Russia expands use of jet-powered drones.
Andrii Oliinyk said General Cherry plans to release the interceptor this fall after testing is completed. Grim Tech wants to present its own jet-powered interceptor by the end of October, and BlueBird Tech says its work is still at an early stage.
General Cherry and Bullet
General Cherry is developing a new kinetic booster version of its Bullet interceptor. Oliinyk said the company had to redesign the frame and materials, using more heat-resistant materials, and he said, "We plan to release it this fall after the testing phase is completed."
The target speed, some 450 km/h, puts the system in the faster class of drone interceptors Ukrainian firms are now trying to field. General Cherry is presenting that effort at the MSPO show in Kielce, where Ukrainian companies are meeting military and industry representatives from Poland and other countries.
Grim Tech and Kyiv
Grim Tech is developing a new interceptor designed to counter jet-powered drones. A Grim Tech manager said, "Russia uses almost only jet-powered Shaheds to attack Kyiv because the interceptors that we were using in the past against older generations of drones had an interception rate of around 90 percent".
The same manager said, "By the end of this October, we want to present our jet-powered interceptor." Grim Tech is aiming for a maximum speed between 500 and 700 km/h, a range that shows how far the current counter-drone race has moved beyond older, slower systems.
BlueBird Tech at MSPO
Vadym Stepanchuk, head of business development at BlueBird Tech, said the company’s research and development cycles are usually measured in weeks, not years. He said, "We have already announced the development of our air-defense interceptor. It is still at an early stage."
Stepanchuk said BlueBird Tech wants its interceptor to cost less than the targets it destroys, and he said, "That is one of our fundamental design requirements, and it means we need to get the engineering right from a cost-efficiency perspective." BlueBird Tech already supplies FPV drones, drone detectors, electronic warfare systems and unmanned ground vehicles to Ukraine’s military.
Ukraine and export pressure
Earlier this year, Ukraine’s government decided to establish a regulated framework that allows local defense companies to export surplus military gear to partner nations if they cover the Ukrainian military’s needs first. That gives firms at MSPO a second incentive: build interceptors fast enough for Ukraine, then scale them into production abroad with U.S. and European partners.
The practical test is still ahead. Ukrainian firms are now trying to turn promises made in Kielce into systems that can fly fast enough, cost less than the drones they hit, and arrive soon enough to matter over Kyiv.
