Interceptor drones against Geran-2: Kyiv moves “Clear Sky” project into regular operation

Fighting Russian Geran-2 attack drones with interceptor drones was until now an experiment in Kyiv – now the project is moving into regular operation. The Kyiv City Military Administration (KMVA) announced this officially on 11 July. The “Clear Sky” system (Чистое небо) had so far run in pilot format; 5.3 million euros (260 million hryvnia) are now available for scaling it up.

Tymur Tkachenko, head of the KMVA, said: “On the President’s instructions, we are introducing a fully fledged system for intercepting enemy drones flying towards Kyiv.”

A dome of interceptor drones over the city

The aim is an urban anti-drone dome, based on the mass use of small interceptors – mostly first-person view (FPV) drones. Interception is based on radar and visual data. “Clear Sky” depends only to a small extent on military command posts and can operate in a decentralised manner. Intercepts take place at short range; the FPV drone often rams its target.

The system includes calculation of the interception geometry, a monitoring and coordination centre, and a training centre with a practice range where new tactics and technical means are tested.

Kyiv concedes that saturation attacks still make the system vulnerable, at least for now. If 20 to 30 attack drones strike as a swarm from different directions, they could break through the defences if the calculations are insufficient.

At the same time, using an interceptor drone against a Geran-2 is considerably cheaper and faster than other means of conventional military air defence – and available in larger numbers.

In its experimental phase, Kyiv’s “Clear Sky” intercepted almost 550 Russian Geran-2 drones. The project exemplifies tactical adaptation to a shortage of surface-to-air missile systems and overstretched conventional air defence.

“Clear Sky” is not a replacement for layered defence with missiles and radar; rather, it allows critical facilities to be covered quickly – above all the capital, Kyiv.