VOLKODAV 2: Drone-vs-Drone Interceptor with Onboard Homing

What we are announcing

VOLKODAV presents VOLKODAV 2 — a drone-vs-drone interceptor with onboard homing. It is the next step for our technology: where we previously spoke about a turnkey site-protection service, we are now bringing the product itself to market — an FPV-class interceptor of our own assembly, an early detection system and homing software, delivered to the customer as a ready-to-use package. The full product page is here: VOLKODAV 2 drone interceptor.

The context in which this product arrives is familiar to anyone responsible for the security of an industrial site. Modern attack UAVs reach ranges of up to 2,500 km — the aerial front line now runs deep into the country, putting fuel-and-energy, power and industrial facilities at risk. Damage from a single hit is estimated at 50–500 million rubles. And without a detection system the time available to react is zero seconds: you learn about the drone from the explosion.

The product idea fits into three words: aims, launches, destroys. The operator aims the interceptor at the target and launches — the drone does everything else itself. No explosives, early detection plus AI homing, and production of packages tailored to each customer.

Developer and manufacturer, not a reseller

A key point of positioning: VOLKODAV is a developer and manufacturer, not an integrator of other people's boxes. The package is built on three in-house components:

• Our own interceptor drone. We assemble the airframe and electronics ourselves; the aircraft meets the declared speed and range figures.
• Our own early detection system. It finds the aerial target and hands target designation to the crew — we break down how it works in the article on early UAV detection, and the product itself is described on the detection system page.
• Our own intercept and homing software. The onboard AI locks onto the target by video and autonomously steers the interceptor into a ram strike.

This vertical integration brings two practical benefits. First, control over the specs: we do not depend on third-party supply and can adapt the platform to the customer's mission. Second, scalable production: a package is assembled per site, and expendable interceptors are resupplied as needed.

How the intercept works: three steps

The employment logic is reduced to three steps — everything more complex is hidden inside the automation:

1. Early detection. The detection system finds the aerial target and passes target designation to the crew. Without this stage no effector is fast enough — the reaction starts before the target closes on the site.
2. The operator aims and launches. A human points the interceptor at the target and launches it. The operator's part ends here — the decision to engage stays with a human, the routine is handed to the machine.
3. Autonomous intercept. The onboard AI tracks the target using the forward-looking thermal camera feed and rams it on its own — with no operator and no GPS.

The terminal phase does not rely on satellite navigation: the self-homing interceptor steers by image, not by coordinates. Jamming of GPS/GLONASS — ours or the adversary's — has no effect on the intercept. Why that matters, and where jamming fails, is covered in detail in Kinetic Drone Interception vs Jamming (EW). Neutralization is a physical ram with no explosives: no warhead, no uncontrolled fragments over the protected site.

VOLKODAV 2 specifications

The platform is an FPV quadcopter on 10-inch props. Key figures:

* Range depends on the radio link and configuration and is refined for each customer's mission.

The forward-looking thermal camera is a major difference from daylight-only FPV drones: the interceptor sees the target at night and in poor visibility, when a visual channel is useless. As part of the full complex with forward-deployed crews, the intercept perimeter reaches 10–12 km around the site.

What the delivery package includes

The customer receives not a drone in a box but a mission-ready combination of hardware, software and trained people:

• Interceptor drone — a 10″ FPV platform with onboard AI;
• Control kit (GCS) — pilot remote, FPV goggles, operator workstation;
• Early detection system — target designation for the crew (see the detection page);
• Homing software — onboard target lock and autonomous intercept;
• Crew training — piloting and employment;
• Support — service, spare parts, expendable drones.

Operation follows the point-and-launch principle: lock, tracking and intercept are handled by the onboard AI, so the crew does not need months of expert FPV piloting practice. Minimal crew, fast entry into service; we train the customer's personnel and support the system in operation.

Economics: ~350K rubles vs 50–500M in damage

The indicative price of one interceptor is about 350,000 rubles. Compare that with the damage: a single UAV strike on a tank farm, a substation or a production line costs 50–500 million rubles — plus downtime, recovery and rising insurance rates.

The damage is asymmetric: one successful strike costs as much as years of guard service. An expendable interceptor priced at hundreds of thousands of rubles prevents an episode costing tens or hundreds of millions — payback comes with the very first prevented incident.

This is why we treat the interceptor as an expendable means of defense: its job is to meet the target in the air and keep it away from the site. The economics close even for a single engagement, while the reduction of the site's insurance risk works around the clock.

Who VOLKODAV 2 is built for

The intercept package targets four types of customers:

• Private security companies at critical sites — refineries, oil depots, power facilities, industrial plants;
• Corporate security services — in-house protection of large fuel-and-energy assets;
• Departmental guard forces — perimeter and grounds of extended facilities;
• Solution integrators — as an addition to existing protection systems.

The common denominator is a security unit on site that needs its own air-intercept tool. Since June, guards have been permitted smoothbore and combat shotguns, but small arms are unreliable against a small, fast aerial target — we dedicate a separate analysis to this: Why a Shotgun Won't Stop an Attack Drone. Our principle: every unit gets its own intercept kit.

Readiness: prototype and roadmap

We say it honestly, with no exaggeration. A working prototype is being built right now: the platform, the onboard AI, the homing stack. We are ready to show an intercept at a test range in real conditions — live, not in renders. Production scales to the customer's volume and mission.

The customer roadmap has three stages:

1. Demonstration — a live intercept at the test range;
2. Pilot on site — deployment at the customer's facility with crew training;
3. Series deliveries — production of packages tailored to the customer.

If you are responsible for the security of a fuel-and-energy, power or industrial site — leave a request: we will discuss your mission, arrange a demonstration and size the package. Technical details are on the interceptor and detection system pages.