Russia-manufactured drones are reportedly being redirected through airspace and sent back to their origin, as indicated by sources.
Ukraine has reportedly learned to hack Iranian-designed Shahed kamikaze drones flooding its airspace, redirecting them back to Russia and Belarus, according to recent reports.
Russia is producing more than 6,000 Shahed-style drones annually at a facility in Yelabuga, in the Tatarstan region, and launches between 30 and 80 of these loitering munitions daily toward Ukrainian cities. The sheer volume of these attacks has strained Ukraine’s air defense systems, which are running low on expensive Western-supplied surface-to-air missiles.
On Tuesday, Russian forces launched 188 Shahed drones and four Iskander-M ballistic missiles toward Ukraine, marking a new record in the 1,000-day conflict, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. While Ukraine intercepted 90% of the drones, it failed to stop the Iskanders.
Remarkably, 95 drones were redirected toward Russian soil using a technique known as “spoofing,” which involves altering satellite coordinates that guide the drones. This tactic was disclosed by Le Monde, citing a source close to Ukrainian military intelligence, who emphasized that these drones are intentionally sent back to Russia and Belarus.
Neither Russian nor Belarusian authorities have publicly acknowledged Ukraine’s ability to “return to sender.”
The Shahed-136 drone, a key tool in Russia’s arsenal, has a 3.5-meter wingspan, carries a 40-50kg explosive payload, and can travel up to 1,000 kilometers (621 miles). Its distinctive moped-like sound has become a grim hallmark of the war. While initially designed to destroy buildings, newer variants now deploy fragmentation or thermobaric charges for increased lethality.
Adding complexity to the conflict, a new drone called “Gerber,” derived from the Geran-2, appeared in November. Unlike its predecessors, this drone carries no explosive payload but is designed to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses. After recent attacks, Ukrainian Air Force sources released maps showing the drones’ erratic trajectories, some of which ended in unexpected airspace. Between November 24 and 26, 43 Shahed drones crossed into Belarus, prompting Moscow's ally to scramble fighter jets four times to intercept them.
To counter these threats, Ukraine is developing the “Sting,” a classified first-person-view drone designed to intercept Shahed-136s. Developed by the Wild Hornets group, the Sting can fly faster than 100 mph and reach altitudes of nearly 10,000 feet, offering a more cost-effective alternative to conventional air defense systems.
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