Amazing Drones develops interceptor mini-aircraft and missile-drone to tackle Shaheds – here’s how it works
Ukrainian drone manufacturers are racing to respond to one of the defining challenges of the current stage of the war — countering Russia’s Shahed-type kamikaze drones. One of the most promising solutions? Fast and affordable drone interceptors. Several companies, including Tekhnari, General Chereshnya, and others, are already working on such systems. Today, Defender spotlights a promising new model under development by the team at Amazing Drones.
Klymenko says their drones are already being used by the 80th Air Assault Brigade, the 114th and 118th Territorial Defence Brigades, the 66th Mechanised Brigade, the 15th Mobile Border Detachment, the Kraken special forces unit, and other Defence Forces units.
The company has yet to reach break even. So far, Amazing Drones has secured $100,000 in investment from a Ukrainian business angel, and aims to raise an additional $200,000-–300,000 this year for R&D and scaling. One of the draws for investors may be the company’s new anti-Shahed innovation.
Both systems are equipped with powerful motors that enable speeds of up to 220 km/h — fast enough to catch a Shahed, Klymenko explains. The drones have an effective operational radius of up to 10 kilometres and can reach altitudes of 2,000 metres.
“Our drone takes off using a downward thrust of air and flies at an angle due to weight distribution — it’s tilted forward slightly. This makes it both stable and fast,” Klymenko says.
At the moment, the interceptors are manually operated: a pilot visually identifies the target and steers the drone to intercept. However, Amazing Drones is already working on integrating their UAVs with radar systems.
“In the lab, we’re already able to detect incoming drones and calculate their distance,” says Klymenko. “Our goal now is to fully automate this process.”
This, he adds, will help reduce human error and improve response speed in high-stakes situations where every second counts.
The cost of one Amazing Drones interceptor is around $1,000. Klymenko says even if it takes two or three to bring down a single Shahed, it’s still a fraction of what a single surface-to-air missile would cost.
“We deliberately use inexpensive but reliable components. For example, the chip in the drone’s body costs under $100. That allows us to scale production and eventually saturate the front with these systems,” he explains.
Currently, the company has the capacity to produce up to 800 drones per month, but plans are underway to significantly increase output.
Світ очима перехоплювача «Шахедів». Скриншот наданий розробниками
The world through the eyes of a Shahed interceptor. Screenshot provided by the developers
Klymenko believes that the key to countering the Shahed threat lies in deploying large numbers of simple, effective interceptors. “Our long-term goal is to create a first line of defence — ideally we’d shoot them down in open fields before they reach cities and cause damage with falling debris,” he says. He proposes placing these drone ‘barriers’ on the approaches to cities, key infrastructure sites, and border zones.
Next steps include advancing automation for the anti-Shahed systems and integrating onboard target recognition. The company is also closely monitoring the evolution of enemy tech, — including reports that Russia may be fitting Shaheds with jet engines. “If they upgrade — we’ll adapt,” says Klymenko.
Their more ambitious vision? A collaborative effort with Ukraine’s Defence Forces and other drone manufacturers to build a notional “wall” of interceptors. “If we deploy enough of them with overlapping coverage, their ranges could form a kind of dome,” Klymenko explains.
Amazing Drones
Amazing Drones was founded in August 2023 by two volunteer entrepreneurs determined to support the Ukrainian military. According to the company’s co-founder, Maksym Klymenko, the team now produces a range of FPV drones (under the Hummel brand), kamikaze UAVs, bombers, fixed-wing drones, and accompanying software.Klymenko says their drones are already being used by the 80th Air Assault Brigade, the 114th and 118th Territorial Defence Brigades, the 66th Mechanised Brigade, the 15th Mobile Border Detachment, the Kraken special forces unit, and other Defence Forces units.
The company has yet to reach break even. So far, Amazing Drones has secured $100,000 in investment from a Ukrainian business angel, and aims to raise an additional $200,000-–300,000 this year for R&D and scaling. One of the draws for investors may be the company’s new anti-Shahed innovation.
A new approach to countering Shaheds
Today, Ukraine’s air defence relies heavily on mobile fire teams, the Air Force, and large air defence systems like the US-made Patriot. However, using expensive missiles to shoot down relatively cheap Shahed drones is economically inefficient — which is why the Ukrainian defence tech community is seeking cheaper alternatives. Amazing Drones offers two such solutions: a miniature fixed-wing interceptor aircraft dubbed Molot (Hammer), and a missile-drone called SkyRider, designed specifically to counter kamikaze drones.Both systems are equipped with powerful motors that enable speeds of up to 220 km/h — fast enough to catch a Shahed, Klymenko explains. The drones have an effective operational radius of up to 10 kilometres and can reach altitudes of 2,000 metres.
SkyRider missile-drone by Amazing Drones
SkyRider missile-drone by Amazing Drones. Photo provided by the manufacturer“Our drone takes off using a downward thrust of air and flies at an angle due to weight distribution — it’s tilted forward slightly. This makes it both stable and fast,” Klymenko says.
At the moment, the interceptors are manually operated: a pilot visually identifies the target and steers the drone to intercept. However, Amazing Drones is already working on integrating their UAVs with radar systems.
“In the lab, we’re already able to detect incoming drones and calculate their distance,” says Klymenko. “Our goal now is to fully automate this process.”
This, he adds, will help reduce human error and improve response speed in high-stakes situations where every second counts.
The cost of one Amazing Drones interceptor is around $1,000. Klymenko says even if it takes two or three to bring down a single Shahed, it’s still a fraction of what a single surface-to-air missile would cost.
“We deliberately use inexpensive but reliable components. For example, the chip in the drone’s body costs under $100. That allows us to scale production and eventually saturate the front with these systems,” he explains.
Currently, the company has the capacity to produce up to 800 drones per month, but plans are underway to significantly increase output.
Світ очима перехоплювача «Шахедів». Скриншот наданий розробниками
The world through the eyes of a Shahed interceptor. Screenshot provided by the developers
Klymenko believes that the key to countering the Shahed threat lies in deploying large numbers of simple, effective interceptors. “Our long-term goal is to create a first line of defence — ideally we’d shoot them down in open fields before they reach cities and cause damage with falling debris,” he says. He proposes placing these drone ‘barriers’ on the approaches to cities, key infrastructure sites, and border zones.
What’s Next
Amazing Drones is now preparing for serial production of Molot and SkyRider. According to Klymenko, both models are currently undergoing flight testing with one of Ukraine’s military intelligence units. While they haven’t scored a combat kill yet, that moment is expected soon.Next steps include advancing automation for the anti-Shahed systems and integrating onboard target recognition. The company is also closely monitoring the evolution of enemy tech, — including reports that Russia may be fitting Shaheds with jet engines. “If they upgrade — we’ll adapt,” says Klymenko.
Their more ambitious vision? A collaborative effort with Ukraine’s Defence Forces and other drone manufacturers to build a notional “wall” of interceptors. “If we deploy enough of them with overlapping coverage, their ranges could form a kind of dome,” Klymenko explains.
No replies