Ukraine warns Russia’s new Geran-5 drones can reach 1,000 km/h as autonomous AI targeting advances

Russian Geran-5 attack drones have reached speeds of up to 1,000 kilometers per hour during some maneuvers, according to Serhiy “Flash” Beskrestnov, an adviser to the Ukrainian president on defense technologies.

“We recorded cases when, during maneuvering, the Geran-5 accelerated to 1,000 kilometers per hour,” Beskrestnov said in Kyiv on Thursday.

He warned that Russia is rapidly improving its jet-powered strike drones and increasingly combining higher speeds with optical navigation, cameras and artificial intelligence.

Beskrestnov said future AI-equipped drones could independently recognize and attack targets such as trains, warehouses and vehicles without requiring an operator to guide each strike.

“You can launch a thousand drones, and then they will autonomously search for targets and attack them,” he said, describing the prospect as “a truly terrible future.”

Russia has already fielded Geran-5 variants with optical navigation systems that allow them to continue navigating using images of the ground even when satellite signals or communications are disrupted.

Ukrainian specialists have also reported that some newer Russian drones can transmit live video and work with airborne relay drones, giving operators greater control and targeting capability over long distances.

Russia is simultaneously expanding production and launch infrastructure for jet-powered drones, increasing the pressure on Ukrainian air defenses as Moscow prepares for another winter campaign against energy, transport and other infrastructure.