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Companies

MaXon Systems

A Kyiv startup building an autonomous, AI-guided fixed-wing interceptor that downs Shahed-type drones with minimal operator input.

MaXon Systems is a Kyiv defence-technology startup, founded in early 2025 and led by Oleksii Solntsev, building an autonomous interceptor designed to bring down Russian Shahed-type attack drones with one operator pressing two buttons. Its flagship is a small fixed-wing aircraft, marketed as the Eichel, carrying a roughly one-kilogram warhead, with a cruise endurance of up to about 70 minutes and an operational radius near 30 kilometres; its quoted top speed of around 300 km/h is matched to propeller-driven Geran variants rather than the faster jet types. A single button press launches the interceptor and flies it autonomously to a pre-set altitude, where it loiters; the operator then watches a station fed by the company’s own Detection and Tracking Unit, selects an incoming target on screen, and confirms the engagement. MaXon has tested launching the aircraft from balloon-borne platforms as well as from the ground, and estimates that 20 to 25 units could screen a city the size of Kyiv.

What MaXon emphasises as its distinguishing feature is full-chain automation across launch, transit and terminal guidance. The company built its own autopilot, fusing beacon data with onboard sensor feeds for navigation, while the AI detection and terminal-guidance stack comes from a Dutch partner the firm has not named publicly. MaXon says the system automates roughly 95 percent of the interception while keeping a human in the loop. At a quoted price near $3,500 per unit, the interceptor is pitched against Shaheds that cost Russia an estimated $40,000 to $80,000 to build. The first confirmed combat interceptions were reported on 8 June 2026, carried out by Ukraine’s 12th Separate Special Purpose Center in Kharkiv Oblast.

The company developed the system through the Brave1 defence cluster and has drawn outside capital, including an early round backed by the Freedom Fund and a later raise led by the US-based fund Green Flag Ventures, with Big Defence and others also named. It is one of several Ukrainian teams pursuing low-cost drone-on-drone interception, alongside Wild Hornets and Fire Point .

interceptor anti-shahed autonomous autopilot fixed-wing brave1 aerostat

Products

Drones

  • Eichel interceptor

    A small fixed-wing autonomous interceptor carrying a ~1 kg warhead, with cruise endurance up to ~70 minutes and an operational radius of ~30 km; top speed about 300 km/h, priced around $3,500 per unit. One operator launches it to a holding altitude, then selects a radar-cued target; an in-house autopilot fuses beacon and onboard sensor data while a partner-supplied AI handles detection and terminal guidance, automating most of the engagement. Can be launched from the ground or from balloon-borne platforms.

Hardware

  • Detection and Tracking Unit (DTU)

    MaXon's own detection-and-tracking subsystem that feeds the operator station, integrating with Ukraine's radar network to cue interceptors onto incoming Shahed-type drones.

Sources