NEW YORK, August 1. /TASS/. The mass deployment of Russia’s upgraded Geran-3 drones equipped with jet engines could pose significant challenges for Ukraine’s air defense systems, the Business Insider outlet wrote.

The online portal reports that these Russian drones can reach speeds up to 800 km/h, velocities comparable to cruise missiles. Business Insider notes that at these high speeds, the chances of Ukrainian ground fire teams intercepting the drones are close to nil. The outlet also suggests that Ukraine’s interceptor drones would need to triple their current speed to effectively counter the jet-powered modification of Geran-3.

The analysis indicates that Western-made long-range air defense systems in Ukraine’s arsenal, particularly Patriot missile batteries, would have a hard time simultaneously intercepting both ballistic missiles and high-speed drones if Russia were to deploy them both in a large-scale attack.

Earlier, military expert Alexey Leonkov told TASS that Russian forces possess jet-powered Geran-3 drones capable of diving on targets at speeds exceeding 400 km/h. According to his information, this modification also features extended operational range, enhanced electronic warfare resistance and improved targeting accuracy.