More than half of the crews specializing in intercepting drones failed to destroy a single target over the course of a year. Colonel Pavlo Yelizarov, a deputy commander of the Ukrainian Air Forces, has revealed this in an interview with Ukrainian Pravda.
An analysis of the units’ effectiveness revealed a significant gap in results. Out of more than 300 crews, only 66 demonstrated high effectiveness, shooting down more than 10 Shaheds each. At the same time, 170 crews had not a single confirmed shoot-down for the entire year.
The colonel cited the example of a specific operation in one of the regions, where 24 out of 28 crews did not destroy a single drone. According to Yelizarov, this indicates that the problem lies not in a shortage of personnel, but in the organization of operations and the analysis of how effectively available resources are being utilized.
Instead of expanding units quantitatively, the command urges a focus on a high-quality structure and the experience of successful groups. As an example of effective organization, he cited the National Guard’s Lasar’s Group special unit, which maintains a small size but demonstrates high results thanks to clear management.
As a reminder, Zelenskyy previously stated that strengthening mobile air defense units is a priority task for the Supreme Commander-in-Chief’s Headquarters. The President set clear deadlines for providing these units with additional weapons, pickup trucks, and equipment for nighttime UAV hunting.
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