ANALYSIS: The P1-SUN Long and Ukrainian AI Are Redefining the Hunt for Shaheds

The P1-SUN Long, with double the range, unveiled for the first time at Eurosatory 2026

Unveiled at Eurosatory 2026 in Paris, the P1-SUN Long doubles the range to 33 km. Its service ceiling is 9 km, and its speed is 310 km/h. The 800-gram warhead remains unchanged.

This is not a prototype: the P1-SUN Long has shot down dozens of Shahed drones in actual operations prior to Paris.

Internet-based control, AI updates deployed in the operational zone

The P1-SUN Long integrates SkyFall’s remote control network. AI updates are deployed via the Internet in active zones.

Software capabilities are continuously enhanced without interrupting operations. This architectural resilience is a game-changer.

An interceptor updated via the Internet in a war zone—SkyFall is building a platform, not just a weapon.

Trained on thousands of hours of real flight data

The P1-SUN Long’s AI has been trained on thousands of hours of real-world data, including a drone that replicates the exact thermal signature of a Shahed. It autonomously detects, tracks, and locks onto targets.

The operator remains in the lethal decision-making loop. This shared responsibility reduces the cognitive load when facing overwhelming waves of targets.

A standard processor stabilizes the supply chain

The AI runs on a standard processor—not a high-end GPU subject to export restrictions. This choice stabilizes the supply chain.

Combat AI on accessible hardware ensures production continuity. Industrial resilience is a strategic component in its own right.

Military AI on consumer-grade processors—Ukraine is pioneering this while others are still drafting their doctrines.

From target selection to impact: nearly autonomous

Brave1’s MaXon program automates 95% of the interception process. The operator selects the target. The software navigates. The AI recognizes and locks onto the Shahed.

Tested in the Kharkiv region, this system complies with international law of armed conflict thanks to continuous human-in-the-loop control.

Two complementary systems, a single Ukrainian ecosystem

The P1-SUN Long and MaXon share the same philosophy: AI as a human amplifier, never as an autonomous decision-maker regarding the use of lethal force.

Two companies, two systems, a single interception doctrine. Ukraine has built an ecosystem that NATO is still seeking to formalize.

95% automated, 5% human—Ukraine is testing this ratio under conditions that no academic doctrine could have simulated.

MOU signed at the ILA Berlin Air Show on June 12, 2026

On June 12, 2026, at the ILA Berlin Air Show, SkyFall and Airbus Defence and Space signed a memorandum of understanding to integrate the P1-SUN into the Airbus Air C2 system.

Airbus brings its networks within NATO armed forces. SkyFall brings proven technology. This alliance aims to establish the P1-SUN Long as the standard for low-altitude defense.

Kyiv is exporting its expertise: Toulouse is no longer the one calling the shots

Expertise in anti-drone defense is now found in Kyiv, not in Toulouse or Washington. Airbus has officially acknowledged this.

Ukraine is building its industry amid bombings with leading partners. This reversal is historic.

Airbus acknowledges that the expertise comes from Kyiv—an irrefutable industrial assessment signed in Berlin.

Zelensky Confirms 68%; Syrsky Specifies 70% in Kyiv

In early 2026, Zelensky confirmed a success rate of 68%. General Syrsky clarified that drones accounted for more than 70% of the Shaheds shot down in Kyiv in February 2026.

Expensive surface-to-air missiles are no longer the first line of defense. Drones costing $1,000 have supplanted them in this role.

AI improves with every successful or failed interception

The 68% rate is a rising average. SkyFall’s AI learns from every interception. The P1-SUN Long evolves in a matter of weeks, whereas conventional systems take years.

High-intensity conflict has forced a pace of innovation that peacetime would never have allowed.

68% of Shaheds shot down—and the number is rising. Every interception improves the next one.

The Military Math That Is Permanently Depleting Russia’s Resources

A P1-SUN costs more than $1,000. A Shahed is worth $50,000. A conventional surface-to-air missile costs over a million. The asymmetry is decisive.

Every interception impoverishes Russia without depleting Ukrainian stockpiles. The economic war is won with $1,000 drones.

1,500 FPV interceptor drones per day produced in Ukraine starting in January 2026

By January 2026, production of FPV interceptor drones had reached 1,500 units per day in Ukraine. This is no longer a cottage industry: it is a full-fledged industrial sector.

This volume creates an advantage that Russia cannot counter through conventional means. Necessity becomes a sustainable industrial advantage.

$1,000 versus a million—Ukraine wins through economic intelligence where Russia relies on sheer volume.

From Kyiv to Riyadh: Saudi Aramco Negotiates the Purchase of P1-SUN

In March 2026, the Wall Street Journal reported that Saudi Aramco was negotiating the purchase of P1-SUN to protect its infrastructure from Iranian drones.

Zelensky in London, March 2026: “If a Shahed needs to be intercepted in the Emirates or in Europe—we can do it.” That’s a track record, not bragging.

Battle-tested technology marketable in all markets

What SkyFall is selling to Riyadh is technology proven in the corridors that Russian Shaheds fly through on their way to Kyiv every night.

No Western manufacturer can match this level of validation. Ukraine has turned its nights under bombardment into a global commercial advantage.

Ukraine is paying with blood to test what will protect Europe tomorrow. The West has no right to squander this sacrifice.

Beijing is studying the Ukrainian laboratory to inform its own doctrines

China, a major developer of drones, is observing the Ukrainian experiment. The lessons from this war will shape Beijing’s doctrine.

What Beijing learns today, it will incorporate into its doctrine of tomorrow. The West must understand this challenge right now.

NATO no longer has the luxury of waiting for the next war

NATO cannot wait. Failing to adopt this technology—which has been proven under extreme conditions—would be an inexcusable strategic mistake.

The P1-SUN Long and the MaXon are available. Allies who delay are leaving their cities unprotected against a threat that Ukraine has already resolved.

China is watching. NATO is deliberating. Ukraine is acting. This asymmetry in responsiveness could define the next conflict even before it begins.

Each layer addresses its own threat within the Ukrainian defense architecture

The Ukrainian strategy operates in layers. Surface-to-air missiles counter ballistic missiles. The P1-SUNs counter Shahed and Gerbera drones. FPVs counter threats at very low altitudes.

This architecture counters Russia’s wave-based saturation attacks. Ukraine has built a system that learns from every attack.

From exception to the norm in less than a year

In February 2026, drones accounted for more than 70% of the Shaheds shot down in Kyiv, according to General Syrsky. A shift from the exception to the norm.

Ukraine is deploying, on an industrial scale, an autonomous interception doctrine that no one had tested in high-intensity, real-world conditions before it.

70% of Shahed drones shot down by $1,000 drones—Ukrainian air defense is rewriting the military playbook.

An accessible civilian shield, controllable from anywhere

A Shahed shot down 33 km from Kyiv means an intact building, a school still standing, and a functioning hospital. The P1-SUN Long is a civilian shield produced on a large scale.

Operators control these interceptors from remote stations via the SkyFall network. Human risk is minimized throughout the entire chain.

An existential challenge transformed into a global competitive advantage

Faced with waves of Shahed drones that its missile stockpiles could not handle, Ukraine devised a cheaper and more agile solution.

The country could not afford to fail under daily Russian strikes. And it did not fail. Large-scale autonomous interception works.

Ukraine had no choice but to innovate. It was this lack of choice that produced the world’s most advanced anti-drone technology.

Paris, June 2026: A combat demonstration, not a sales showcase

At Eurosatory 2026 in Paris, SkyFall unveiled the P1-SUN Long for the first time to NATO clients. It has already been validated in actual combat.

The allied nations in attendance left convinced: Ukraine has the world’s most well-documented lead in autonomous anti-drone defense.

Between Paris and Berlin, Ukraine is no longer just a beneficiary

Between Paris and Berlin, SkyFall sent a clear signal: this technology is ready for international deployment.

Ukraine is no longer a recipient of military aid but has become a provider of defense solutions. Eurosatory 2026 marked this historic turnaround.

When Ukraine makes a presentation in Paris and signs a deal with Airbus in Berlin, it is no longer the country that begs. It is the country that sells.

SkyFall Enhances, Airbus Deploys, NATO Integrates

Since November 2025, SkyFall has been delivering AI-enhanced strikes, contributing to thousands of interceptions. The production of 1,500 FPVs per day confirms the shift to industrial-scale operations.

Integration via Airbus Air C2 is the next step. The P1-SUN Long is becoming a component of Europe’s collective defense.

The P1-SUN Long, the first generation of a continuously improving series

NATO has been seeking an anti-drone doctrine for years. Ukraine has it: built under bombardment, tested on a large scale, and validated in Paris and Berlin.

The P1-SUN Long is the first generation of a series that will evolve with each return from a mission. The Ukrainian innovation cycle never stops.

10,000 shot down, 68%, $1,000: the numbers behind a revolution

The P1-SUN Long, SkyFall’s AI, Brave1’s MaXon, the Airbus partnership—a revolution born of urgency, validated by 10,000 Russian drones shot down, and exported worldwide.

The 68% success rate, 1,500 FPVs per day, the $1,000 cost—the story of a country that turned its survival into a global competitive advantage.

The West no longer has an excuse for not adopting this technology

AI has already transformed anti-drone defense in the pine forests of central Ukraine. The question is whether NATO will adopt these technologies in time.

The West no longer has an excuse. What its defenders have forged in the pine forests of Ukraine can already protect Europe.

By Maxime Marquette, columnist