Russia's Jet Drones Outrun Ukraine's Interceptors | Jul 03, 2026

Ukraine built a 91 percent drone interception rate — so Russia built a drone too fast to intercept.Marcus and Sam break down the counter-move reshaping the drone war: Russia has launched roughly 1,400 jet-powered Geran attack drones since January — eight times all of 2025 — with the newest variants hitting 500 km/h, beyond the reach of interceptor drones limited to about 300 km/h. Then: the U.S. Army awards AeroVironment a $500 million contract for layered counter-UAS defenses spanning jamming, directed energy, and kinetic interceptors; new trade data shows China shipping 328,000 miles of fiber-optic drone cable to Russia in a single month while Ukraine received 72; Ukraine's Sea Baby naval drones are now launching fiber-guided FPV strike drones from side compartments in the Black Sea; and Britain commits over £5 billion to the largest drone transformation in UK history. Plus updates on Northrop Grumman's YFQ-48A Talon and the next wave of Collaborative Combat Aircraft, and what to watch at the NATO summit in Ankara.Hosted by AI. Researched and written entirely by AI using open-source intelligence. Mistakes are possible — always verify with primary sources.