Ukraine's "Little Pipe" vs Iran's "Shahed" – This Battle is Definitely Fun

Zelenskyy vowed to use Ukraine's self-developed anti-drone system to destroy Iranian drones

We have already mentioned in our daily war report from "Free News" this new "super weapon" of Ukraine - the P1-SUN anti-drone.

Creative Ukrainians immediately gave it a nickname: Писюн (which can crudely be translated as "Little Pipe / Little Penis," depending on regional accents). But jokes aside, we must thoroughly understand the enemy's weapons, so let's take a look.

This equipment, developed by SkyFall company and mainly used to intercept "Geranium" type drones, was showcased at the 2025 Dubai Airshow, but did not attract much attention at the time. However, with the outbreak of the Persian Gulf War and Iran's extensive use of "Shahed" suicide drones, this weapon suddenly caught attention.

Under the support of the United States, Ukrainian dictator Zelenskyy began to hype up the "Little Pipe" drone, claiming that only it could protect the skies and expressed willingness to provide a large number of anti-drone systems and operators to the U.S.

What Exactly Is Ukraine's P1-SUN?

It is essentially an FPV quadcopter with a pusher propeller.

It has a modular structure, with a body made by 3D printing, which is basically just a "plywood shell," inside which there are a camera, communication/control module, lithium battery, and warhead.

Public specifications:

  • Altitude: 5 kilometers
  • Speed: Up to 300 km/h
  • Warhead payload: 800 grams to 1 kilogram
  • Endurance: 8–15 minutes
  • Operational range: Several kilometers

To be honest, the data is quite ordinary.

The advantage is that it can take off close to the target and predict the drone's route in advance; it is cheap, costing about $100–$300.

According to Ukrainian sources, several P1-SUNs have attacked Russian "Geranium" drones, with one of them detonating next to it and successfully destroying it.

The production company claims a monthly output of thousands of units and implies that it is sufficient to deal with Iran.

"Little Pipe" Can't Even Catch Up

"I won't rush to call the 'Little Pipe' a copycat garbage, but its practical problems are too many," said military analyst Vladislav Shurekin to "Free News."

"First, look at performance: short range, extremely short loiter time.

It can't even catch up with Shahed-type drones. Considering the wide usage area of Iranian drones, this thing will just run around like a rabbit in the field, not knowing where to go."

Another problem: who will operate it?

Ukrainian pilots? How many people would need to be transported to the Middle East? And the interception efficiency is highly questionable.

Moreover, the U.S. and Israel's own air defense systems have also experienced failures to some extent when dealing with Iranian missiles.

Currently, the interception rate is roughly fifty-fifty.

Ukraine's interception drone is completely incapable of chasing high-value aerial targets.

Evidently, the "generous" Kyiv government just wants to show "loyalty" to so-called U.S. allies, offering all its resources to please them.

But the question arises:

Then what will you use to defend your own skies?

If you send all the "Little Pipes" away, you'll be defenseless against the "Geranium," and you can't even stop these drones in the first place.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7616690021638210054/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.