Ukraine built a $9K drone to hunt a $10M Russian jammer
A Ukrainian fixed-wing strike drone built to find Russian electronic warfare systems by their own radio signals and dive onto them has been listed on Brave1 Market, the government-run online store where Ukrainian military units order weapons, Ukrainian outlet Defender Media reported.
The drone, called SHOT-L1, can strike targets up to 80 km (50 miles) away and is priced at UAH 416,000 (about $9,300) per unit on the platform. The manufacturer has not been named, and there is no information yet on whether the drone has been codified, the formal approval that admits a product into service with the Ukrainian military.
An operator sends the SHOT-L1 toward the area where a target is believed to be, and once the drone reaches the assigned zone, an onboard system scans it for radio emissions, works out the direction of a detected source and steers the drone onto it automatically. If it picks up several emitters at once, the drone goes for the strongest one, the manufacturer says.
If no active signal turns up within a set time, the drone switches to a backup mission and attacks a fixed ground target chosen before launch.
The SHOT-L1 carries a 4 kg (8.8-pound) payload and cruises at 100 km/h (62 mph) with up to 60 minutes of flight time. It has a thermal camera, an analog video link and a terminal guidance system for the final approach.
The manufacturer lists three Russian jamming systems as typical targets: the R-340RP Pole-21, the R-330Zh Zhitel and the Mgla. Pole-21 is designed to jam satellite navigation signals such as GPS, while the truck-mounted Zhitel is built to jam satellite phones, cellular networks and navigation signals. Ukrainian estimates put the cost of a single Zhitel at around $10 million. Russian forces have used both systems widely in the war in Ukraine, where jamming is a constant problem for Ukrainian drone units that depend on radio control links and satellite navigation.
Brave1 Market launched in 2025 and lets Ukrainian units buy drones, ground robots and electronic warfare equipment with their own budgets or with points earned for confirmed combat results. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said troops ordered more than 590,000 drones through the platform in the first nine months of 2026, with interceptor drones the most popular category.
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Ukraine has developed the SHOT-L1 drone, capable of striking targets up to 80 km away, to locate and attack Russian electronic warfare systems. Priced at approximately $9,300, the drone autonomously identifies and targets radio signal emitters. It can carry a 4 kg payload and has a flight duration of up to 60 minutes. The drone is part of Ukraine's ongoing efforts to counteract Russian jamming systems used in the conflict.
- Ukraine has developed the SHOT-L1 drone to target Russian electronic warfare systems.
- The drone can strike targets up to 80 km away and costs approximately $9,300.
- It is designed to automatically locate and attack radio signal emitters.
- The SHOT-L1 can carry a payload of 4 kg and has a flight time of up to 60 minutes.
- Russian jamming systems are identified as primary targets for the drone.