By DAVID AXE
20/07/2025
Forbes
An anti-aircraft vehicle from the Cold War is enjoying a dramatic second career in Ukraine—as a top killer of Russia’s Shaheds.
As the barrages of Shahed drones get bigger, more frequent and more destructive in Ukraine, it’s becoming clear which Ukrainian-operated weapons work best against the 200-kg drones, each hauling a 90-kg warhead thousands of km under satellite guidance.
German-made Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, or SPAAGs—each armed with a pair of radar-cued 35-mm Oerlikon autocannons—are some of the most efficient defenses against the Shaheds. “Automated 35-mm gun systems produce dense projectile clouds,” pointed out a Ukrainian air-defense developer who goes by their nom de guerre “Alchemist.”
Ukraine’s scores of Gepards, along with a much smaller number of more modern Skynex guns, “provide critical mid-range defense” against the devastating Shahed raids, swatting down the drones from a few kilometers away. “A German Gepard with twin 35-mm Oerlikon cannons once shot down multiple drones with a single burst,” Alchemist recalled.
Russia’s Shahed attack drones are relentlessly striking Ukrainian cities. Defeating the normally propeller-driven drones is “the highest priority” in Kyiv, according to Taras Tymochko, a representative of the Come Back Alive foundation.
Since launching the first Shahed at Ukraine nearly three years ago, Russia has launched tens of thousands of the explosive drones: around 29,000 in all so far, according to Ukrainian analysts. A single Shahed may cost between $50,000 and $150,000.
The pace of the drone attacks is increasing. The scale, too. An attack on July 4 involved 539 Shaheds and decoy Shaheds, according to the Ukrainian air force. The air force claimed it shot down 268 of the drones, while another 208 flew off course, likely owing to Ukrainian jamming systems, which can interfere with the radio signals connecting the drones to their navigation satellites.
Despite the defensive effort, 63 Shaheds struck, damaging buildings and killing and wounding civilians. Six days later on July 10, 397 Shaheds swarmed in. Twenty-nine got through that time. Two days after that on July 12, an incredible 597 Shaheds and decoys droned toward Ukraine. The Ukrainians shot down or misdirected 577 of them. Twenty hit.