Ukraine has found another cost-effective answer to Russia’s mass drone campaign: launch interceptors from the air.
Combat footage released April 23 by Ukrainian pilot Tymur Fatkullin shows a modified Antonov An-28 Cash twin-turboprop air-launching P1-SUN interceptors from underwing pylons, with confirmed kills against Russian Shahed-type one-way attack drones.
The footage, first posted to Instagram by account aero.tim, provides the first public confirmation of aerial interceptor launches resulting in combat kills in the conflict.
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The P1-SUN, produced by Ukrainian defense tech firm Skyfall, carries a unit cost of approximately $1,000. Each successful Shahed intercept runs roughly $3,000 all-in, a decisive cost-exchange ratio against a drone that costs Russia an estimated $20,000 to $50,000 per airframe.
Hanna Hvozdiar, adviser to Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, disclosed at the European Business Summit that P1-SUN interceptors have downed more than 3,000 Russian Shaheds in 2026 alone.
The An-28 is a Soviet-era utility turboprop that Ukraine has converted into a dedicated counter-drone hunter. The aircraft already carries more than 150 confirmed Shahed kills from its earlier direct-fire configuration, which utilized a door-mounted M134 Minigun capable of firing up to 6,000 rounds per minute.
In its latest adaptation, the mounted weapons give way to a carrier role. The aircraft now deploys with at least three hardpoints per wing, allowing up to six interceptors per sortie. An onboard optical system enables the crew to visually acquire and track targets before authorizing a launch.
Rather than requiring the aircraft to close within weapons range of a Shahed and engage directly, it can now release a P1-SUN at standoff distance, relying on the interceptor’s own kinematics and guidance to complete the kill.
Two interceptor types have been confirmed operationally on the An-28. The P1-SUN operates at altitudes up to 16,400 feet, reaches speeds of up to 280 miles per hour, and carries a 14-mile range. Its modular, partially 3D-printed airframe supports high-rate production. Skyfall is currently manufacturing at two to three times Ukraine’s domestic demand, positioning the company as a potential exporter.
Ukrainian drone makers say they’re ready to export interceptors to the US and Gulf states, Reuters reports. SkyFall’s P1-SUN costs about $1,000 and has downed over 1,500 Shaheds in four months. The company can build 50,000 a month and even fly them remotely from Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/YbuurWLcjA
— WarTranslated (@wartranslated) March 7, 2026
In a separate statement, Wild Hornets, another Ukrainian drone developer that SOFX has routinely reported on, confirmed its Sting interceptor completed a combat air-launch from an An-28 during operations, claiming it as the world’s first aerial interceptor combat kill from a manned aircraft.
Wild Hornets has since extended the Sting’s operational record beyond manned platforms. On April 20, Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) confirmed the world’s first sea-launched interceptor kill, downing a Shahed using a drone deployed from an unmanned surface vessel (USV).
