Balloon-Launched Drone To Intercept Long Range Kamikaze Drones Emerges In Ukraine
The pictures of the balloon-based kamikaze drone launcher, seen in the post on X below, have been circulating online since earlier today. It is unclear to what degree the aerostat's manufacturer, Ukrainian startup Aerobavovna, is involved in this project, which is not mentioned on the company's website or its channel on the Telegram social media network at the time of writing.
The aforementioned aerostat-mounted counter-drone sensor system was developed and rolled out by a separate Ukrainian firm, Kvertus. TWZ has reached out to Aerobavovna for more information.
The Ukrainian company Aero Bavovna is developing an aerostat system to intercept Russian 'Shahed' UAVs.The balloon will carry an FPV fixed wing kamikaze ready to be dropped when a Shahed is detected by an infrared camera. https://t.co/u8qQSRu1Go https://t.co/KgEx0R9K5Q pic.twitter.com/oyA9Dd511v
— Roy
(@GrandpaRoy2) March 12, 2025
From the images that emerged so far, the system as it currently exists includes a launcher for a single fixed-wing kamikaze drone 'interceptor,' as well as a sensor array suspended from the underside of the aerostat and other equipment. The system is designed to attempt an intercept 'after detecting long-range kamikaze UAVs [uncrewed aerial vehicles] via an IR [infrared] camera,' according to a machine translation of a post on the @infomil_live Telegram channel, but this is unconfirmed.
Other details about the system, including what its full sensor suite consists of, what level of automation it has when it comes to detecting threats and/or attempting intercepts, and what roles any human operators play in its employment are unknown.
In general, elevating any sensor system helps provide a better line-of-sight field of view toward the horizon and improved 'look-down' coverage. A higher perch provides similar benefits for signal relay and electronic warfare suites. Aerobavovna currently advertises its aerostats as suitable for surveillance, general communications, and acting as signal relays for first-person view (FPV) kamikaze drones.
The use of aerostats and other lighter-than-air craft as elevated sensor nodes, and ones designed specifically to spot and track incoming threats, is hardly new. The U.S. Army's abortive Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System (JLENS) program is one of the best known examples. Other aerostat-based sensor systems have been and continue to be in service in the United States and other countries globally. The continued use of balloons for intelligence-gathering purposes was notably thrust back into the public consciousness after the shootdown of a Chinese spy balloon, as well as three still-unidentified objects, in and around U.S. and Canadian airspace in February 2023.
There has also been something of a resurgence in interest in using lighter-than-air platforms for early warning and general surveillance in recent years, including Poland's plan to deploy a line of aerostat-based Airspace and Surface Radar Reconnaissance (ARSS) systems. This has been driven in part by Russia's extensive use of both long-range one-way attack drones and cruise missiles – relatively small and low-flying threats that underscore the value of elevated 'look-down' sensor capabilities – in its ongoing war against Ukraine. Both sides in the conflict make regular use of various types of kamikaze drones, as well as ones capable of dropping small munitions, on and around the front lines, as well. As TWZ routinely points out, the threats posed by drones are not new and continue to grow in scale and scope, thanks now in part to advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning, both on and off traditional battlefields around the world.
The idea of using balloons, airships, and other lighter-than-air platforms to launch drones, small munitions, and other payloads, is also not new. TWZ previously published an in-depth feature on Chinese work on balloon-launched drone swarms, which also touched on similar U.S. military efforts, which you can find here.
The use of various types of drones to try to intercept other uncrewed threats, as well as helicopters, has also become a commonplace feature of the ongoing fighting in Ukraine.
Ukrainian FPV drone attacks and destroys Russia's ZALA ISR UAV. https://t.co/gY01Xk5CqB pic.twitter.com/S03USttHDl
— Samuel Bendett (@sambendett) June 12, 2024
Mi-28N(M) smacked by Ukrainian AA FPV over Kursk, Russia pic.twitter.com/EUWxQEF9nV
— Cᴀʟɪʙʀᴇ Oʙsᴄᴜʀᴀ (@CalibreObscura) August 7, 2024
If the aerostat-mounted drone interceptor system works, it could offer a useful addition to Ukraine's defensive arsenal that could be readily deployed across the country. It might also be possible to tie in the balloon-based systems with other Ukrainian counter-drone and air defense capabilities, such as the country's low-cost acoustic sensor network consisting of thousands of microphones to detect incoming drones.
If the interceptor-armed aerostats are also relatively low cost and low footprint, they could be even more valuable for supplementing the Ukrainian military's other counter-drone capabilities and further reducing the strain on higher-end and prized air defense systems, especially those supplied by the West. Recent disruptions in U.S. military assistance have raised particular questions about Ukraine's air defense capabilities and overall capacity in the absence of such support.
Much remains to be learned about the counter-drone interceptor system utilizing the Aerobavovna aerostat. Its appearance does underscore the continually expanding efforts in Ukraine to address the very serious threats posed by kamikaze drones on and off the front lines.
Contact the author: joe@twz.com
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
2 hours ago
- The Hill
Trump's drone deal with Ukraine is a path to U.S. military reindustrialization
President Trump has long promised to deliver better deals — ones that put American interests, industry and strength first. Coming on the heels of his Alaska meeting with Vladimir Putin, a historic drone megadeal between the U.S. and Ukraine — reportedly valued between $10 billion and $30 billion — offers Trump the chance to pressure Moscow while securing a deal that advances U.S. strategic interests. This deal isn't just a defense contract. It is a strategic bridge between America's current industrial limitations and the wartime production capacity the we need to deter future conflict. It is also a warning shot to China that the U.S. is getting serious about scaling military drone innovation at speed and cost. America's unmanned drone arsenal is not ready for a prolonged fight in the Indo-Pacific. Despite advances in AI and autonomous systems, we face a dangerous gap — we lack the industrial base to produce the volume of smart, expendable and networked uncrewed systems required for high-intensity, multi-domain conflict. That's where this deal comes in. America's industrial base needs time to build factories, establish supply chains that are compliant with Pentagon rules and iterate on product designs to deliver the necessary unmanned systems needed for a fight in the Indo-Pacific. Ukraine, out of sheer necessity, has become the world's most advanced proving ground and manufacturer for uncrewed military systems. In 2024 alone, it produced over 1.7 million drones — fielded, iterated and improved in combat conditions that mirror the future of warfare far more closely than American test ranges in Hawaii or Arizona ever could. From low-cost first-person vehicles to strategic sea drones and long-range deep-strike capabilities, Ukrainian engineers have led the charge for uncrewed systems and what Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth rightly called 'the biggest battlefield innovation in a generation.' The U.S. shouldn't try to reinvent the wheel. Instead, we should springboard off Ukraine's hard-earned experience to accelerate our own industrial and technological transformation. (Full disclosure: My firm does consulting work in Ukraine, but I have no financial ties to Ukrainian drone companies.) This deal offers three critical advantages. First, it is a strategic bridge to reindustrialization. Building a new defense industrial base in America will take years, if not decades. The Ukrainian drone deal buys us time, capability and breathing room. It delivers operationally relevant drones at scale today, while we rebuild factories, train workers and realign acquisition models to fit a 21st-century fight. It's not a handout — it's a hedge against our current vulnerabilities. Second, the operational gains generated by this deal will have applicability in a potential war in the Pacific. Ukraine's drones, as successful as they have been in trench warfare, won't map one-to-one to a theater characterized by vast maritime distances and denied environments. But Ukraine's deep-strike and naval drone programs — already disrupting Russia's dominance in the Black Sea — have direct applications for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. Integrating these capabilities into U.S. doctrine will enhance our lethality, expand the kill chain and signal to Beijing that American deterrence is not theoretical. Third, this deal gives us access to the world's best combat-proven drone engineers. And this is where the real opportunity lies. Through long-term partnerships, American companies — from major defense contractors to venture-backed disruptors — can tap into Ukraine's top-tier talent. These are engineers who have lived through a decade's worth of research-and-development cycles over the last two years. Given the multi-year scope of the deal, this isn't a one-off purchase — it's a pipeline of talent, innovation and battlefield iteration aligned to U.S. warfighting priorities. If the U.S. partners deeply with Ukraine on drone innovation, it also denies Beijing access to a combat-proven technology base. It ensures that battlefield-proven AI, swarming tactics and electronic warfare capabilities stay in U.S.-aligned hands. And it turns Ukraine into an asset to help anchor American technological and industrial advantage in a world increasingly defined by great-power competition. Some will argue this is just another foreign entanglement. That is a misread. This is not about subsidizing a foreign war — it's about integrating battlefield-tested systems into American force design, doctrine and war-fighting functions. It's about readiness. And it's about building the industrial muscle to back up our strategy with actual mass. Trump has a unique opportunity to redefine American defense procurement — not as a bureaucratic bottleneck, but as a competitive advantage. This deal embodies his 'Peace Through Strength' doctrine: hard power, smart economics and global signaling all in one move. If Trump leans in, he won't just be supporting Ukraine. He'll lay the groundwork for America's reindustrialization, reshaping deterrence in the Pacific and putting the U.S. back in command of the battlefield technologies of tomorrow. The deal is on the table. The question is, will he seize it?
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trump to put tariffs on steel and semiconductor chips
President Donald Trump said he plans to put tariffs on imported steel and semiconductor chips as soon as next week, a report said. "I'll be setting tariffs next week and the week after on steel and on, I would say, chips," the president said on Friday to reporters aboard Air Force One as he travels to Alaska to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Reuters reported. "I'm going to have a rate that is going to be lower at the beginning — that gives them a chance to come in and build — and very high after a certain period of time," Trump said according to the report. At the beginning of June, the president placed a 50% tariff rate on imported steel and aluminum. And just last week, he said he would put a 100% tariff on chips , adding that if companies build in the U.S. then 'there is no charge.' Trump made the announcement during a press conference in the Oval Office with Apple CEO Tim Cook. During the conference, Cook said the iPhone maker is investing an extra $100 billion in the U.S., bringing the total of its planned corporate domestic spending to $600 billion over four years. 'But the good news for companies like Apple is if you're building in the United States or have committed to build, without question, committed to build in the United States, there will be no charge,' the president added. 'The higher you go, the more likely it is they build a plant here,' President Trump said in mid-June at the White House in regards to a possible tariff rate hike on imported autos. The policy, part of Trump's 'America First' agenda, aims to bolster domestic manufacturing by penalizing companies that rely on overseas chip production. For AI companies, the stakes are particularly high. Semiconductors are the backbone of AI infrastructure, powering everything from data centers to autonomous vehicles. Yet while Trump's semiconductor tariffs threaten global supply chains, years of U.S. buildout plans have left AI's biggest firms largely insulated . — Joseph Zeballos-Roig and Shannon Carroll contributed to this article. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CNBC
4 hours ago
- CNBC
Apple reportedly ups iPhone production in India as country's Russia ties roil White House
Apple has reportedly boosted iPhone production in India as the country faces pressure from the White House over its Russian oil purchases "We have planned to up the tariffs on India," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Tuesday. "These are secondary tariffs for buying the sanctioned Russian oil." Bessent accused India of "profiteering" by purchasing cheap Russian oil and reselling it during the Ukraine war, "which is unacceptable." Earlier this month, President Donald Trump hiked tariffs on India to 50%. The president said in July that he would impose secondary tariffs "at about 100%" on Russia's trading partners if a peace deal isn't reached with Ukraine by September. His comments came as Bloomberg reported that technology giant Apple has reportedly upped production at five of its factories in India as it readies for the launch of its new iPhone 17 models. The expansion includes some new plants and factories belonging to the Tata Group and contract electronics manufacturer Foxconn Technology, according to the report, citing people familiar with the matter. Apple is also looking to create a new iPhone 17e in India next year, according to the report. In recent years, Apple has shifted more production to India as it looks to reduce its reliance on China, especially in the wake of recent trade tensions. Data from Canalys in May estimated that iPhone shipments from India to the U.S. grew 76% in May as trade restrictions loomed. At the same time, Apple has committed to investing over $600 billion in the U.S. over the next four years to improve American manufacturing production. That includes a $100 billion spending expansion this month, which included a $2.5 billion investment to expand iPhone glass maker Corning's production.
