August M
Ukraine says it repelled one of the largest recent Russian aerial assaults, intercepting hundreds of incoming targets in a single operation. Newly released footage suggests Kyiv may be refining a cheaper way to counter Moscow’s drone strategy.
According to information published by Ukraine’s Air Force and reported by WP Tech, Russia launched 425 aerial weapons during the attack. Ukrainian officials said “we suppressed 392 targets.”
Kyiv stated that the intercepted threats included 367 drones, 20 Kh-101 cruise missiles, four Iskander-K missiles and one Kh-59/69 missile.
New interception method
Among the released clips, analysts from Defense Express highlighted footage showing what was described as an “unknown aerial target” being tracked and destroyed.
Defense Express assessed that the aircraft involved was targeting an Iranian-designed Shahed drone used extensively by Russian forces. The analysts indicated that the drone was brought down using an APKWS II guided rocket.
Video details suggest the missile was launched with the support of the AN/AAQ-33 Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod, a system developed by Lockheed Martin and mounted on an F-16 fighter jet.
Lower cost option
The APKWS II system is significantly cheaper than traditional air-to-air missiles. Open-source estimates cited by WP Tech place its cost at roughly $30,000 to $31,000 per unit.
By comparison, an AIM-9 missile is estimated to cost between $380,000 and $470,000, while an AIM-120 is valued at around $320,000 to $340,000.
An F-16 can typically carry up to six AIM missiles, but it may be configured to deploy as many as 28 APKWS II rockets, potentially allowing it to engage a larger number of slower targets in a single sortie.
Drone economics
According to figures attributed to Iranian manufacturers and cited by WP Tech, Russia’s purchase price for Shahed drones has reportedly fallen to about $193,000 per unit. The Shahed-based Geran-2 variant is estimated at around $165,000.
While the drone still costs more than the APKWS II used to intercept it, the gap is far narrower than when expensive air-to-air missiles are used against relatively low-cost unmanned aircraft.
The newly released footage marks the first confirmed example of Ukraine employing this specific configuration in a real combat interception, according to Defense Express.
Sources: WP Tech, Ukrainian Air Force, Defense Express
