11/02/2026
Germany’s Quantum Systems’ battery-powered Apex Recordhunter just went from 699 km/h in June to 777 km/h (about 483 mph) in October, accelerating from a standstill in about 27 seconds while flying into a headwind!
Then the battery caught fire before the return run, so there’s no official record, and in this video I explain why that battery fire is important for learning.
Apex isn’t the interceptor going to Ukraine. It’s a technology demonstrator built to find where electric flight breaks: drag, heat, battery discharge, and stability at nearly 500 mph. Those lessons feed straight into Quantum’s counter-drone programs as Germany finances tens of thousands of Quantum interceptors to be built in Ukraine, aimed at Russian jet-powered drones flying 500 to 600 km/h. The real story is margin: how much of 777 km/h survives once you add sensors, guidance, a kill mechanism, and a price low enough to build by the tens of thousands.
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Glory to Ukraine. Glory to the heroes. Crimea is Ukraine.
- Chapters!
- 00:00 The Electric Drone That Hit 777 KM/H
- 02:09 Apex Record Hunter Gets Even Faster
- 03:10 Why Apex Isn’t Actually a Combat Drone
- 04:03 Why the Last 11% of Speed Is So Difficult
- 05:33 Zero to 777 KM/H in 27 Seconds
- 06:23 Why the Speed Record Isn’t Official
- 07:01 Then the Battery Caught Fire
- 07:21 What Caused the Fire?
- 08:05 The Airframe Helps Cool the Drone
- 08:57 Why Failure Is Part of the Experiment
- 10:09 How Apex Technology Reaches Ukraine
- 10:30 How Much of 777 KM/H Can a Weapon Keep?
- 12:15 Germany Orders Tens of Thousands of Interceptors
- 13:28 The Drone Ukraine Gets Won’t Look Like Apex
- 13:54 Apex Is the Laboratory, Ukraine Gets the Weapon