Syrsky: Interceptor drone platoons being created in AFU units

 The war has entered a new phase, as the expansion of so-called "kill zones" is becoming a consequence of the growing capabilities of strike drones, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky said.

"To win this technology-driven war, Ukraine must increase the pace of developing effective unmanned systems, purchasing them for the army and deploying them on the battlefield," Syrsky said on Telegram following a meeting on the development of unmanned systems on Thursday.

According to him, intelligence reported during the meeting that Russia is accelerating the creation of UAV units this year, seeking to influence the course of hostilities, particularly in southern directions where the enemy is losing initiative and territory. Russia plans to increase the number of troops in its unmanned systems forces to 101,000 personnel by April 1.

"In total, in February our drones hit more than 105,200 enemy targets. Of these, a quarter were destroyed by the Unmanned Systems Forces grouping of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Ukraine's Defense Forces continue to maintain an advantage in the use of multirotor FPV drones, although Russia has already developed the capacity to produce more than 19,000 FPV drones per day," the commander-in-chief said.

He also said the Defense Forces are developing FPV drones with fiber-optic control systems. Over the past month, Ukrainian drones struck about 4,200 enemy drone pilot positions.

In order to counter enemy strike drones, interceptor drone platoons are being created in AFU units. Their tasks include destroying enemy FPV drones, quadcopters and attack UAVs, as well as improving logistics for Ukrainian troops. Anti-drone rifles, electronic warfare systems and net launchers are being used.

Syrsky also stressed the importance of developing ground robotic systems, which carried out more than 2,300 missions last month, mainly logistical, but also engineering and combat tasks.

In addition, reports on the development of electronic warfare systems and the training of drone and interceptor drone operators were presented during the meeting.

"I have set new tasks for the development of unmanned systems structures and issued instructions to address existing problems and provide support to units and training centers," the commander-in-chief said.