Posted on 10/31/2025 3:57:45 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
Key Points
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Iranian-designed Shahed drones now pose a more persistent and unpredictable threat than ballistic missiles, forcing the Armed Forces to use a wide range of countermeasures under increasingly difficult operational conditions.
“Shaheds have now become more dangerous in some cases than ballistic missiles,” Zelenskyy said during a press briefing, according to Suspilne. “We can shoot down ballistic missiles where we have Patriot systems. But to bring down such a large number of Shaheds at those altitudes, we need to use everything — interceptors, F-16s, helicopters — we’re using everything.”
The president emphasized that Ukraine’s ability to intercept drones is also heavily influenced by the weather. “In freezing temperatures, we’ll see how helicopters perform. In the rain, aviation can’t see everything,” Zelenskyy said.
According to the president, Ukraine is currently expanding its use of air interceptors, including self-guided models, to counter the growing volume of drone attacks. “By November, we will reach 500 to 800 interceptors per day. We need to train the operators,” he said.
Zelenskyy stressed that the primary challenge is not production but manpower. Although many mobile fire groups are already deployed, a large number of trained personnel are still required to operate the new systems effectively. “We simultaneously need specialists to respond with long-range weapons, which creates an overall demand for people,” he said.
Ukrainian air defenses now rely on a combination of fixed systems and unconventional airborne tactics to combat Shahed drones, which can carry warheads of up to 90 kilograms. These drones, if not...
(Excerpt) Read more at defence-blog.com ...
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you need to create 21st century drone version of a P-51 mustang that flies out and shoots down drones...surprised they are not out there now.
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This could be a new role for the doomed A-10; Air Force leadership would never allow it.
The A-10 is combat proven; has loiter time, deadly gun, and carries a range of missiles.
Why would we? This is on Russia’s doorstep, not ours.
Now, if you are talking about using Warthogs to blow up Mexican cartels—that’s our rice bowl.
Let’s talk.
“The A-10 is combat proven; has loiter time, deadly gun, and carries a range of missiles.”
The USA is not just broke we are 30+ trillion in debt.
The A10 is $22,531 per hour according to a 2023 GAO report.
A single 30x173mm shell is $65-100 EACH that gun fires 4000 per min or more property 66 per second you shoot 2-3 second bursts or you melt the barrels. So $6600 per second or $12,000 per engagement.
The odds of hitting a small drone with a shell is small that gun was designed to put 50% of it’s rounds inside a 40 FOOT circle at 3000 feet range. You would need some form of either proximity fused ammo $$$ per round or some kind of air burst fuse setting (time, number of rotations, radio or laser rear facing sensor and a radar tracker on the aircraft running that radar to send a detonation command) again $$$$$$ for the radar pod and $$$ per round.
Missiles yeah about that a AIM9X...
AIM-9X (Block II)~$472,000 (Air Force)~$430,000 (Navy)
AIM-120C-8 model was around $1.9 million in July 2025.
Cheapest would be the APKWS (Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System) rocket is approximately $35,000 per unit.
Stinger’s are $120,000 to $150,000 per missile.
Remember you are shooting at a $20000 or less drone.
The proper way to down drones is with other pusher prop drones. Using commercial grade smartphone 50 megapixel cameras the triple lens kind that have low light and shortwave IR night vision modes. Using the processors and gyros and magnetometer of a smartphone and also the 5G NR radio module for realtime comms basically take a low end smartphone out of its case minus it’s battery and wire it to the drones power supply. AI software to pick the enemy drop out of the sky or against the earth surface background and plot an intercept course. Once close have a 6 barrel or better yet a revolver single barrel.shotgun shooting TSS(tungsten super shot)@ 18 gram/cm^3 denser than depleted uranium a #1(4mm) size where a single pellet can full penetrate deer sized animals. A 2oz 3.5” mag 12 gauge load at 10 yards would smash a drone’s electronics or control surfaces to bits. Then drone kills cost $10 the cost of a TSS shell and the flight time cost of a recoverable drone. Make it gas powered , rear pusher prop, and launch and land them off a truck bed catapult with.A two wire hanging snag line like we do Scan Eagle drones. Easy peasy.
Because the A-10s could be an effective weapon to take out attacking drones.
The U.S. has already decided to provide weapons to the Ukrainians; that is settled policy. The A-10s are already bought and paid for; their next stop is the boneyard.
The A-10s could supplement the small number of U.S. built F-16s already in use by the Ukrainians.
That doesn't mean the A-10s should be flown by American service members.
Is this the way the U.S. military is taking out drones today? It sounds more aspirational than operational.
“Now, if you are talking about using Warthogs to blow up Mexican cartels—that’s our rice bowl.
Let’s talk.”
Yeah that would be worth every penny of more debt to wipe out as many as we could and put the fear of God in the survivors. A10 bbbbbbrrrrtttt much cheaper than Hellfire missiles off Reapers but Reapers much cheaper per hour of flight. So obviously make cheaper weapons to drop off a Reaper. The guided 80 mm and 120 mm mortars make for a fine drone dropped weapon sub 5 meter CEP. 80 mm have a 38 meter diameter killzone and nearly 100 meter wide frag zone. The 120 mm has a 60 meter wide you are dead zone and 100+ meter don’t be here or eat frags area. The kits that screw into the fuse well of either it’s the same size same treads. GPS+INS or semi active laser. Those cost $10,000 bucks each cheap compared to all other smart munitions. The reaper could also be fitted with gun pods and downwards and/or sideways facing turrets 20 mm 3 barrel cannon can lay down 5 mrad fire from 3000 meters up well outside small arms range. 5mrad is a 15 meter diameter area @3000 meters it should be obvious why it was chosen for gunship work.
Exactly this but on a Reaper not a Vietnam era COIN aircraft. No need to out human’s in harm’s way anymore we have global gigabit networks everywhere, all the time with Starlink and now the DOD dedicated Starshield.
https://www.reddit.com/r/WeirdWings/comments/1lv6w2r/yov10d_nogs_night_observation_gunship_system/
There is some great video of that system tearing up, sampans,trucks,people in the treelines if they could see it in IR or low light TV it got chewed up by 20mm HEI each round has a lethal radius for a 20mm high-explosive incendiary (HEI) round is generally cited as being between 6 and 18 feet 2-6m, with fragmentation hazards extending out to around 66 feet 20m. That cannon dumps 750-3000 per min. With a 15 meter beaten zone and 6 meter shell bursts it’s saturated nothing lives inside the beaten zone.
It’s the way Ukrainians are using off the shelf stuff.
https://www.uasvision.com/2025/07/30/ukraine-equips-new-interceptor-drone-with-6-barrel-shotgun/
“At the Demo Days drone field tests, a Ukrainian company presented a drone designed to shoot down enemy drones, including fiber-optic ones, as well as to engage infantry.”
This is a design that is being tested; it may work and it may not work. There is no harm in trying.
A kitchen sink will take out a good size drone if you can hit the drone hard enough with the sink. Right now the Ukrainians are throwing everything they can think of.
Propaganda.
“you need to create 21st century drone version of a P-51 mustang that flies out and shoots down drones”
I’ve been advocating that for months.
It’s the PERFECT solution to Shahed type drones.
You have found out that Ukraine is destroying Russia’s refineries, haven’t you? Close to 20 so far. Gas is short all over Russia. Also, Russia is using donkeys and Motor bikes in combat. Russia has shot down many of its own planes in friendly fire. Don’t think you are keeping up with current events.
Plus, the biggie: All the enlisted Russians who invaded are now dead are not able to fight because of injuries.
Necessity is the mother of invention.
On the other side I saw where the Russians have been putting broom sticks with explosives on the end of then with two wires out front when they ran the stick into the wing or body of a much larger long range drone boom it takes the wing off but doesn’t wreak the smaller FPV drone that was Lanceloting the bigger drone it flies back with half it’s stick gone and gets another lance put on.
It’s like NASA spent millions of dollars developing a pen that writes in zero g ,upside down ,in hot and cold , under water even. I own a space pen...the Russians took a hard grease pencil. Same vibe.
In the meantime, use a 10 gauge shotgun.
Russia should have stayed on its side of the border. Would have saved a lot of death and destruction.
NATO should not have expanded onto Russia’s borders. The CIA should not have overthrown ukraine’s elected government years ago. ...and so on.
Poor, oppressed, downtrodden, put-upon Russia ...
Maybe if they hadn’t enslaved eastern Europe for 70 years their neighbors wouldn’t hate them.
Maybe Russia DESERVES worldwide opprobrium.
Ever think of that?
No?
Didn’t think so ...
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