Shahed Drone

Romania used an F16 jet to shoot down a 'Shahed drone' over its territory for the first time. The incident occurred as Putin launched new strikes in Ukraine.

Iran's military claims its naval air defence systems destroyed a US-made Lucas drone. The Iranian IRNA news agency published a photo of the alleged damaged drone, but the claim could not be independently verified by Middle East Eye. The Lucas is noted as the US version of the low-cost Shahed one-way attack drone.

A Russian jet-powered Shahed drone struck a critical infrastructure facility in Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk region, killing one civilian and injuring others. The attack caused a fire and emergency response, and was part of a broader wave of Russian strikes on southern and central Ukraine on July 17-18.

Russian forces are shifting to low-altitude, manually controlled drone strikes to evade Ukrainian air defenses, as reported by Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Serhiy Beskrestnov. A Shahed drone recently descended to 22 meters to avoid detection, and on July 18, Russia launched 90 drones and seven missiles, with Ukrainian defenses destroying 69 drones and one missile.

A Ukrainian drone unit shared a video of American-made Merops interceptors reportedly downing a Russian Shahed drone, prompting U.S. military interest in developing a scalable version. The U.S. Army is pursuing a government-owned design for low-cost interceptors to replace expensive Patriot missiles, with Perennial Autonomy, the Merops manufacturer, holding a $500 million Pentagon contract.

An Apache helicopter was downed near Oman by a Shahed drone, with both crew members rescued. Analysts highlight the incident as a sign of evolving air combat, emphasizing the growing threat of unmanned systems to traditional military aircraft.

A Russian Shahed drone attack targeted the southern city of Mykolaiv, injuring two adults and causing an acute stress reaction in a 10-year-old child, according to regional officials.

Ukrainian officials reported that a Russian Shahed drone struck a nuclear fuel facility near Chernobyl, which President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned as 'extremely vile'.

Residents in Cheboksary, Russia, reported explosions and air raid sirens, while local authorities denied any incident. The city is home to a military electronics manufacturer producing components for Russia’s Shahed drones and Iskander missiles.

A US-Saudi joint venture, SR2Vector, is building a factory near Riyadh to produce SKYWASP combat drones modeled on Iran’s Shahed system. The drones, capable of striking targets 1,500 km away, aim to enhance Saudi deterrence and align with the kingdom’s goal of localizing 50% of defense spending by 2030.

Ukraine is testing affordable interceptor missiles under a presidential directive to strengthen air defense capabilities against Russian drone and missile attacks. Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced the program aims to scale up production of cost-effective air defense solutions. Current defenses intercept most drones, but officials say further strengthening is needed against intensified Russian strikes.