Sting (drone)

Sting
Sting interceptor
TypeQuadcopter, loitering munition, interceptor drone
Place of originUkraine
Service history
In service2024
Used byUkraine
WarsRusso-Ukrainian War
Production history
DesignerWild Hornets
ManufacturerWild Hornets
Unit cost$2,100
Produced2024
No. built10,000 units per month
Specifications

The Sting (Ukrainian: Стінг) is a Ukrainian drone-intercepting loitering munition developed during the Russo-Ukrainian war.[1]

Description

The Sting was developed by the Wild Hornets group for the purpose of intercepting the large number of Shahed drones that Russia use to attack Ukrainian cities and that can overwhelm other types of air defenses.

After months of testing, modifications, and financial struggles (including a near-shutdown in early 2025), the Sting interceptor was born. Its first public success came in April 2025, when a video of a Sting downing a Shahed went viral, sparking widespread military interest and adoption. The project was largely funded by volunteers and charitable donations, with key support from activist Serhii Sternenko.[2]

Design

Built with a 3D printed, aerodynamic, bullet-shaped frame and propelled by four rotors,[3] the Sting can reach flight speeds of 213 mph (343 km/h) and cruise at an altitude of 10,000 ft (3,000 m).[4] It uses Kurbas thermal imaging cameras from Odd Systems.[5] Sting has an engagement range of up to 25 kilometers.[6]Sting drones can be controlled from distances of up to 2,000 kilometers using the Hornet Vision Control system.[7]

Cost estimates for a Sting is around $2,100;[8] much cheaper than the estimated $35,000 cost of a Shahed drone.[3] This favorable cost ratio enables large-scale procurement through volunteer initiatives and state funding while preserving expensive traditional surface-to-air missiles for higher-tier threats. Consequently, the low unit price makes sustained, localized point-defense economically viable across high-risk flight corridors.[9]

Operational history

Sting with the 118th Brigade

Ukrainian MP Maryan Zablotskyy helped to secure a grant for the development of the Sting drone.[10].

In May 2025, the Wild Hornets published thermal imaging footage from a Sting interceptor as it downed a Shahed drone, "marking a breakthrough in frontline drone defense".[11][12][13]

On 1 August 2025 the supplier of the thermal cameras for the Sting claimed that it had intercepted "dozens of Iranian-Russian drones".[14]

In October 2025 a Ukrainian military delegation visited Denmark and successfully demonstrated the Sting against a QinetiQ Banshee target drone.[15]

As per October 2025, the Sting interceptor drones have destroyed over 1,000 enemy UAVs.[6]

In December 2025, the Sting became the first interceptor to down the Russian Geran-3, a jet-powered variant of the Shahed drone.[16] In April 2026, the Sting was responsible for 70% of the intercepted jet-powered Shaheds[17]

As per February 2026, the Sting have destroyed over 3,900 Shahed/Geran drones.[18]

The number of Shahed/Gerbera drones downed climbed to 7,000 in May 2026[19] and to 9,000 in June 2026.[20]

The monthly production rate is over 10,000 units per month in March 2026.[21]

In April 2026, the Sting was Ukraine's top anti-Shahed interceptor drone per number of kills for 7 months in a row, as claimed by the manufacturer.

In April 2026, Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces have for the first time intercepted a Russian Shahed-type drone using a Sting interceptor launched from an unmanned surface vessel, a world premiere. [22]

In April 2026, Ukrainian MP Maryan Zablotskyy conducted a historic experiment — he piloted an FPV interceptor drone first from his office, then in front of the state border, and then another 2,000 km away from the drone itself — from abroad.[23][24]

In August 2026, a Sting interceptor set the world record for drone-on-drone interception at 6,858 meters of altitude, destroying a Russian reconnaissance drone. This record was beaten again in August 2026 with an interception at 7,472 meters of altitude[25].

See also

References

  1. ↑ Barnes, Joe (2024-10-20). "Anti-drone drone developed by Ukraine to take out Iranian-designed kamikazes". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2025-10-04.
  2. ↑ Nedashkivskyi, Vladyslav (2026-03-25). "Sting Story: How the Wild Hornets Made the Drone Interceptor Everyone Wants Source: https://censor.net/r3606836". Censor. {{cite journal}}: External link in |title= (help)
  3. 1 2 Tyrer-Jones, Alex (2025-07-25). "Ukraine Deploys 3D Printed Drones to Combat Russian Shahed Swarms". 3dprintingindustry.com. Retrieved 2025-08-07.
  4. ↑ Dubovyk, Tymur; Brown, Steve. "'Wild Hornets' Latest Development Will 'Sting' Russian Shahed Drones". www.kyivpost.com. Archived from the original on 2025-07-22. Retrieved 2025-08-07.
  5. ↑ "Sting interceptor drones are equipped with thermal imaging cameras from Odd Systems". dev.ua. Retrieved 2025-08-07.
  6. 1 2 Shaikh, Kaif (3 November 2025). "Sting: Ukraine's $2,500 drones hunt 1,000 deadly Russian Shaheds in 4 months". Interesting Engineering.
  7. ↑ Litnarovych, Vlad (2026-04-17). "Ukraine Sets Record With 2,000 km Remote Drone Control From Abroad". United24Media.
  8. ↑ Rathje, Miriam (2025-11-06). "Sting als "Beispiel für Europa": Was kann der neue "Drohnenkiller" der Ukraine ?". TagesSpiegel.
  9. ↑ "The Chronicles Online". April 2025.
  10. ↑ https://tgch.nl/wild_hornets/post/4442
  11. ↑ Syngaivska, Sofiia (19 May 2025). "New Video Captures the Moment Ukrainian Sting FPV Drone Intercepted and Eliminated russian Shahed UAV from Behind". Defense Express. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
  12. ↑ Litnarovych, Vlad (May 20, 2025). "Ukrainian VR-Piloted Sting Drone Takes Out Shahed UAV in First-Ever Recorded Strike". United24 Media.
  13. ↑ Shumlianskyi, Dmytro (19 May 2025). "First Footage Appears of Ukrainian Interceptor Drone Targeting Shahed". militarnyi.com.
  14. ↑ @YaroslavAzhnyuk (August 1, 2025). "Dozens of Iranian-russian drones have already been intercepted by Ukrainian soldiers using Sting interceptors from the Wild Hornets unit, equipped with Kurbas-640-Alpha thermal cameras" (Tweet) – via X (formerly Twitter).
  15. ↑ "Ukrainian Military Shot Down Several Drones In Danish Skies". Charter 97. 2025-10-04. Retrieved 2025-10-04.
  16. ↑ Epstein, Jake (December 1, 2025). "A Ukrainian drone maker says its interceptor took down a Russian Shahed armed with an air-to-air missile". Business Insider.
  17. ↑ P, Artem (2026-04-14). "Interceptor Drones Already Shooting Down Jet-Powered Drones, and This Is Just the Beginning of the Arms Race". Militarnyi.
  18. ↑ Stretch, Aidan (2026-03-16). "U.S. turns to Ukraine for drone defense expertise in Iran war, but solutions may take time". CBS News.
  19. ↑ Wild Hornets (2026-05-21). "7,000+ Shaheds and Gerberas downed by interceptor STING".
  20. ↑ "Over 9,000 Russian "Shaheeds" and "Gerbers" were destroyed by Sting interceptors in six months". dev.ua. Retrieved 2026-07-10.
  21. ↑ Post, Kollen (2026-03-12). "Saudi Arabia prepping 'huge deal' for Ukrainian weapons amid Iranian drone threat". Kyiv Independent.
  22. ↑ Tania, M. (2026-04-19). "Ukraine carries out first-ever interception of Shahed using naval drone platform, military says". Kyiv Independent.
  23. ↑ Lesya Karpenko (2026-04-21). "Network of remote FPV control points to combat "Shaheds"" (in Ukrainian). Censor.NET.
  24. ↑ "Pilot controlled the STING interceptor from a distance of 2,000 km: what does this "incredible record" mean (video)". FOCUS (in Ukrainian). 2026-04-17. Retrieved 2026-04-21.
  25. ↑ "Ukrainian STING Interceptor Drone Sets New Altitude Record, Destroying Russian UAV at 7.5 Km". UNITED24 Media. 2026-08-18. Retrieved 2026-08-18.


This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.