Swedish defence startup Nordic Air Defence (NAD) has announced that its interceptor drones will be hunting for Shaheds in Ukraine this winter. The company claims to be able to produce “tens of thousands” of drones per month.
Dominic Surano, one of the top managers of NAD, shared this in an interview with the Ukrainian publication The Defender.
According to the media, 2025 will be the year of interceptor drones in air defense: this vertical is developing rapidly not only in Ukraine but also in Europe. One of the most promising players in this market is Nordic Air Defence, a Swedish startup that develops compact Kreuger interceptor drones.
Dominic Surano, one of NAD’s top executives, recently visited Kyiv to be one of the jury members at the European Defense Tech Hackathon, which was held in the Ukrainian capital for the first time.
“I see Nordic Air Defence as a company that is creating the next generation of interceptors – moving from a maneuverable quadcopter with a speed of 60 m/s to a fixed wing aircraft capable of flying faster than 120 m/s,”
Dominic Surano said.
According to him, this winter, the Kreuger 100 interceptor will undergo flight tests and be sent to Ukraine to hunt for Shaheds.
After receiving feedback from the Ukrainian military, the company is ready to launch mass production – thousands, even tens of thousands of drones per month
Little is known about the Kreuger 100 interceptor drone. It is claimed to reach speeds of up to 75 m/s in the civilian version, and its capabilities may be even higher in the military version.
Assembly of Kreuger 100 drones. Photo from Dominique Surano’s personal archive
A little more is known about the fixed-wing version, the Kreuger-100XR. It will be able to accelerate to a speed of about 97 m/s, its optimal range is about 3.2 km, and the flight altitude is about 1.0 km.
It is stated that this version will cost several thousand dollars per unit. It is noted that the bulk of the cost of the Kreuger-100XR falls on two key components. The first is a camera that allows the interceptor to autonomously capture a target, and the second is an optional 250 g warhead to destroy larger UAVs, such as the Shahed-136 attack drone.
Three prototypes of the Kreuger-100XR on display at NAD headquarters. Photo- Nordic Air Defence
A cheaper version with laser guidance instead of a camera is also planned. It will require laser illumination by a person or an autonomous device to track the target.
Top Photo: Kreuger 100 interceptor drones – Nordic Air Defence
Source: MILITARNYI