Ukraine now has the world's first operational private air defense system. Civilian operators sitting in basement rooms use standard gaming joysticks to control automated gun turrets - and they are already destroying Shahed drones with an 85% hit rate. Any business in Ukraine can hire them.
As Hvylya reports, citing a detailed investigation by DW and comments from Defense Ministry adviser Serhiy "Flash" Beskrestnov, private air defense has quietly gone from concept to combat reality in a matter of months.
The pioneer is Carmin Sky, which deploys Sky Sentinel turrets armed with Browning machine guns and machine vision systems. Mounted on towers, the turrets autonomously detect and track targets. The operator, who can be hundreds of kilometers away, simply confirms the order to fire.
"Our main traffic is Shaheds. So we shoot down Shaheds. Yesterday we downed a jet-powered Shahed. Anything that enters the turret's zone won't keep flying," a company representative told DW.
Carmin Sky has been operational since January 2026 and already serves multiple clients across different regions. Its operators come from all walks of civilian life - former Glovo couriers, ex-police officers, veterans, taxi drivers. Training takes two weeks to a month depending on prior experience.
According to Beskrestnov, the privately operated turrets with M2 machine guns have an effective range of up to 2 kilometers and are designed to protect critical infrastructure. "Why did the private project appear before the state one? Business always moves faster. Fewer approvals and less bureaucracy," he wrote on social media.
A second player, security firm Gvardiya, received its license in February 2026 and trains interceptor drone operators to take down Shaheds. The company is now negotiating its first contracts but acknowledges that businesses remain cautious about the concept.
"There's still a lack of understanding that this threat isn't going away, and we need systemic countermeasures against enemy drones. Right now it's Shaheds - what comes tomorrow, we don't know," Gvardiya representatives said. They expect the enemy to soon deploy mothership drones carrying FPV drones and swarm systems.
The legal framework emerged in November 2025, when the Cabinet of Ministers allowed enterprises to form their own air defense units. Yuriy Myronenko, one of the architects of the initiative, outlined three qualifying criteria: a company must hold a security activity license, be listed in the state contract executor registry, or be classified as critical infrastructure. After coordination with the Defense Ministry and Air Force, plus staff training, the company gains access to the Sky Map situational awareness system and becomes part of the national air defense network.
As of early April 2026, 16 enterprises have received such permits.
Closing the skies is a central goal of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov's 2026 war plan: detecting 100% of aerial targets and intercepting 95% of missiles and drones. Ukraine has over 6,000 critical infrastructure sites, and the state simply cannot protect them all at once.
Kvertus, a manufacturer of electronic warfare and reconnaissance equipment already protecting dozens of Ukrainian cities, has joined private air defense training exercises to integrate its EW systems with interceptor drones. But its founder Yaroslav Filimonov warned about real risks: a "zoo" of incompatible systems, potential friendly fire incidents, and unresolved legal questions.
"Without access to the unified command system, there's a real possibility of identification errors and hitting friendly aircraft," Filimonov stressed. He also raised the question of liability if a private unit accidentally downs a Ukrainian aircraft.
Despite these concerns, industry participants are convinced that private air defense will eventually become a full-fledged layer of Ukraine's layered sky protection system. But that requires clear rules and enforceable standards.