Ukraine's Largest Drone Maker: Nearly 100,000 a Month, AI Interception Is Just the First Step
Ukrainian drone maker General Cherry produces nearly 100,000 drones a month, and its interceptors take down Russian Shaheds costing over $50,000 at a cost of about $2,000 each. AI guidance is already in combat, but full autonomy is still far off.
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Nearly 100,000 a month, and capacity is still expanding
General Cherry was founded in 2023 and initially produced only about 10 drones a month; today monthly output reaches about 100,000 (the exact figure is confidential). The company has worked with more than 110 military brigades, and the best units consume more than 5,000 drones a month. Capacity is still rising, because battlefield consumption is enormous and drones have become expendables.
— Marko KushnirUkraine has hundreds of drone companies, but only 10-15 at the top
The number of drone companies in Ukraine may be as high as 2,000, but the vast majority are garage-scale workshops. Only 10 to 15 large companies can actually produce 1,000 to 10,000 a month, and General Cherry claims to be in the top five. This fragmented but enormous industrial ecosystem is the foundation of Ukraine's rapid innovation, but it also means fierce competition.
— Marko KushnirAI models are built in-house, co-created deeply with the military
General Cherry's AI guidance system is entirely self-developed, backed by a strong R&D department, and built in close cooperation with different military units at the front. Mobile teams gather battlefield feedback every day so products can be iterated quickly. This ‘R&D-combat-feedback’ loop lets Ukrainian drone technology adapt rapidly to changes on the battlefield rather than depending on external procurement.
— Marko KushnirThe rocket-shaped FPV came from Red Bull, not Ukraine
This rocket-shaped FPV drone is not a Ukrainian invention; Red Bull first used it in 2021 or 2022 for sporting events. Ukrainian companies found that this shape could reach higher speeds than ordinary quadcopters, so they adopted and optimised it. This reflects the rapid learning and pragmatism of Ukraine's drone industry — it does not chase originality, only effectiveness.
— Marko KushnirA $2,000 interceptor against a $50,000 Shahed
General Cherry's interceptor drones (such as Bullet) cost about $2,000 but can shoot down Russian Shahed drones that cost $50,000 to $100,000. This asymmetric cost exchange is Ukraine's key strategy for coping with Russia's ‘saturation attacks’ — using cheap drones to drain the enemy's expensive assets while avoiding the waste of expensive Western air-defence missiles.
— Marko KushnirInterceptors have confirmed more than 5,000 Russian kills
Since production began in February 2025, General Cherry's tactical interceptor drone (General Trajectory Air) has confirmed more than 5,000 Russian drones shot down, including more than 1,000 Russian ‘Moniya’ drones in December alone. The model that intercepts Shaheds also entered mass production in December 2025, with confirmed kills approaching 1,000. These numbers show that interceptor drones have become an important force in battlefield air defence.
— Marko KushnirAI runs on the device, not in the cloud
General Cherry's AI guidance model runs on the drone's local camera chip, not in the cloud. After the operator detects a target by radar and launches the drone, the AI automatically identifies and locks onto the target without human intervention. This on-device AI design avoids battlefield communication latency and jamming, and is the key to making it viable in real combat.
— Marko KushnirFully autonomous weapons are a terrifying future, but AI is now unavoidable
Marko admits that if drones became fully autonomous it would be terrifying — killing would no longer require another person, only a robot or a drone. At present they use semi-autonomous AI only on interceptor drones, because adding AI to ordinary FPVs significantly raises the cost, and it is better to buy a few more without AI. But he predicts AI technology will spread quickly and prices will fall, making the future battlefield even more brutal.
— Marko KushnirIn their own words · checked verbatim
This drone costs about $2,000. And you can destroy this big deep strike machine with this little drone.
Marko Kushnir17:24
if we have some fully automatic systems, it will be very scary, because you no longer need another person to kill a person. So, it's very scary because all it takes is a robot, all it takes is a drone.
Marko Kushnir27:32
If it is better for our military to buy five regular FPVs without AI, it will be better than buying one FPV, but with AI.
Marko Kushnir28:32
I believe that Ukraine is better and faster at creating something new, some new technologies. But Russia, of course, is better at scaling these technologies.
Marko Kushnir30:41
we showed the world that in modern warfare, it doesn't matter how big it is or how many people you have. If you have technology, very cheap technology, you can fight this war and you can win this war.
Marko Kushnir32:43
Figures
| Military brigades partnered | More than 110 | 13:22 |
| Monthly drone consumption of a single unit | More than 5,000 | 13:22 |
| Total Ukrainian drone companies | About 2,000 | 6:08 |
| Number of large drone companies | 10-15 | 6:08 |
| Interceptor drone cost | About $2,000 | 17:24 |
| Confirmed interceptor kills | More than 5,000 | 21:28 |
| Moniya drones shot down in December | More than 1,000 | 21:28 |
| AI guidance hit rate | More than 70% | 25:28 |
Glossary
- Shahed
- An Iranian-designed suicide drone used by Russia in large numbers for deep strikes.
- FPV
- A drone controlled through real-time video fed back from a camera, often used for suicide attacks.
- Interceptor drone
- A drone designed specifically to shoot down other drones, at a cost far below that of its target.
- Moniya
- A cheap Russian reconnaissance/attack drone, shot down in large numbers by Ukrainian forces.
How to listen
Founders, investors and engineers watching the shape of modern warfare, the drone industry and military applications of AI.
The company introduction at the start can be skipped; go straight to the middle and later sections on AI and cost.