AI turrets are downing jet-powered Gerans, the Varkhan robot is cleared for the army, and Russia has upgraded the Geran-4

Machine-vision turrets against jet drones

Ukrainian turrets with artificial intelligence features are now shooting down not only ordinary but also jet-powered Russian drones, Yurii Ihnat, head of communications at Ukraine’s Air Force command, said on television.

“There have already been kills of jet UAVs, even the Geran-5, by those same turrets. I was a big sceptic too, I thought, how is that possible,” he said. According to Ihnat, the use of machine vision and artificial intelligence “eliminated human error”, and technical calculations make it possible to engage even jet-powered targets.

At the same time, he cautioned that the turrets’ range is small, because their main weapon at the moment is a machine gun. A day earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky said more than 12 counter-drone turrets had already been installed in Kyiv, with 8 more planned for Kyiv region.

Varkhan: a robot for front-line logistics

The Defence Ministry has cleared the Ukrainian unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) Varkhan for supply to the Defence Forces. It was built by a Ukrainian defence company at the request of troops who need equipment for logistics tasks.

According to the ministry, the platform is built on a 4×4 all-wheel-drive chassis with a solid-axle suspension and more than 200 mm of ground clearance, so it can move over rough terrain, off-road, through bog and sand. Quick-swap batteries allow it to carry out missions continuously. In tests, Varkhan showed it can carry hundreds of kilograms of cargo over several dozen kilometres; it has several communication and control systems. The UGV is part of an ecosystem that also includes T-Bone ground control stations, antennas, masts and repeaters.

As Ukrinform reported, since the start of 2026 the Defence Ministry has codified and cleared for use 1,678 new types of weapons and equipment, more than 1,500 of them made in Ukraine.

Why the front needs robots

In an Ukrinform report from a training ground, soldiers explain that UGVs today do not just bring ammunition and food but also carry out reconnaissance, recover disabled robots and evacuate the wounded. “Today’s war is impossible without UGVs,” says a soldier with the call sign “Shcheba”. The deputy commander of a UGV section, call sign “Bizon”, said that since the start of spring he has 15 rescued comrades to his name.

What Russia changed in the Geran-4

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence (HUR) has published data on a new modification of Russia’s Geran-4 strike drone. According to HUR, it now has a new unit built around a high-precision PNI5GA magnetometer made by the US company PNI Sensor, which works together with the inertial navigation module and reduces gyroscope drift.

Russia has also added the “Susanin” electro-optical correlation system, which compares the camera image with a reference image loaded into memory to keep the drone on its route; a similar system is fitted to new Geran-5 drones. To hit bridges and power-line pylons, Russian forces have started using a new shaped-charge cutting warhead, and the Chinese turbojet engine has been replaced with a domestic analogue localised in Alabuga.

Why it matters

These three stories are part of a single technology race: Russia is improving its drones’ navigation and warheads, while Ukraine responds with interception systems that aim automatically and with robots that take the most dangerous work on the battlefield away from people.