File image.
The Bolt interceptor drone has successfully passed initial trials, the All-Russian People’s Front movement, whose Kulibin Club supports the developers, told TASS on April 28.
The interceptor was developed as a low-cost system to repel massive drone attacks compared to traditional air defense systems.
While most interceptors usually rely solely on some form of optical guidance, the Bolt can receive updates on target coordinates from a ground-based radar.
“When the Bolt UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) receives a signal from radar stations, it departs from its launch tube and flies fully automatically to a designated target area. The optical homing head then locks on to the enemy target and engages it with a warhead or kinetic energy. The Bolt has already been successfully tested at testing grounds, and we will conduct further testing with the People’s Front,” a spokesperson for the developer, Ploshchad, told the Russian news agency.
The spokesman added that the Bolt is part of the Ploshchad-PVO air defense system, which integrates detection systems, launchers, drone ports, automated operator workstations, and the interceptors themselves, which, upon command from the operator, launch and engage a verified target.
It is worth noting that the Bolt was first showcased at the Archipelago 2025 forum in the Russian capital, Moscow, last year. The interceptor is basically a quadcopter with a cyclical fuselage. Its specifications, like range and speed, are yet to be revealed.
Click to see full-size image. (Telegram)
The Kulibin Club selects, tests, and supports the mass production some of the best products designed by engineers from all over Russia.
The Russian military boosted efforts to integrate interceptors into its multi-tired air defense network over the past year. This came in response to the notable increase in Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian territories. Such interceptors are cheaper, easier to manufacture and simpler to use than anti-aircraft missiles.
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