Ukraine’s drone industry isn’t slowing down. Its latest reveal, a jet-powered concept dubbed FA v1, is designed for short-range air defense and forward-area reconnaissance.
The drone made its public debut at the Drone Warfare Summit hosted by the Philippine Navy, underscoring Kyiv’s growing ambitions in global unmanned systems development.
The FA v1 features a canard-delta configuration with twin outward-canted tail fins and a pointed nose, forming a compact, maneuverable jet profile.
The drone can exceed 250 kilometers (155 miles) per hour, with a range of around 30 kilometers (19 miles), according to summit data.
It can reportedly detect aerial targets at distances up to 15 kilometers (9 miles) and operate at altitudes of up to 5,000 meters (16,400 feet).
Visual material from the summit shows a single centerline store beneath the fuselage, interpreted as a lightweight interceptor, specialized sensor, or strike payload.
The design emphasizes speed and quick reaction over endurance or multi-payload capacity.
No developer or production timeline was disclosed, suggesting the FA v1 remains in the concept or demonstrator stage.
Potential Roles and Deployment
The FA v1’s stated performance suggests use within a 15 to 30 kilometer (9 to 19 mile) line-of-sight envelope.
Likely missions include short-range reconnaissance in contested airspace, counter-drone interception when cued by ground-based sensors, and decoy operations to disrupt enemy targeting cycles.
Its speed and compact form allow rapid time-to-target and brief exposure in defended areas, distinguishing it from larger, longer-endurance unmanned combat aircraft.
The summit gathered regional and international participants to explore multi-domain integration of unmanned systems across air, land, sea, and subsurface operations.
