HESA Shahed 136

Shahed 136
A Shahed 136 at an exhibition
TypeLoitering munition
Place of origin Iran
Service history
Used by Iran
 Russia (as Geran-2)
Wars
Production history
DesignerShahed Aviation Industries
ManufacturerShahed Aviation Industries[1]
Unit cost$193,000[2] (export; various estimates for domestic production cost range from $10,000 to €50,000)[3][4][5][6]
No. builtUnknown
Specifications
Mass200 kg (440 lb)
Length3.5 m (11 ft)
Wingspan2.5 m (8.2 ft)
Warhead weight50 kilograms (110 lb)[7]
EngineMD-550 piston engine
Operational
range
2,500 km (1,600 mi)[7]
Maximum speed Around 185 km/h (115 mph)
Guidance
system
GNSS, INS[8]
Launch
platform
Rocket-assisted take-off

The HESA Shahed 136 (Persian: شاهد ۱۳۶, lit. 'Witness 136'), also known by its Russian designation Geran-2 (Russian: Герань-2, lit. 'Geranium-2'), is an Iranian-designed loitering munition,[9] also referred to as a kamikaze drone or suicide drone,[10][11][12][13] in the form of an autonomous pusher-propelled drone. It is designed and manufactured by the Iranian state-owned corporation HESA in association with Shahed Aviation Industries.[1][14][10]

The munition is designed to attack ground targets from a distance. The drone is typically fired in multiples from a launch rack. The first public footage of the drone was released in December 2021.[4] Russia has made much use of the Geran-2 in its invasion of Ukraine, especially in strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure.

  1. ^ a b "Treasury Targets Actors Involved in Production and Transfer of Iranian Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to Russia for Use in Ukraine". U.S. Department of the Treasury (Press release). 15 November 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2023. Shahed Aviation Industries Research Center (SAIRC), subordinate to the IRGC ASF, has designed and manufactured several Shahed-series UAV variants, including the Shahed-136 one-way attack UAV ...
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Buncombe was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Segura, Cristian (12 October 2022). "Iranian 'suicide' drones: Russia's new favorite weapon in Ukraine war". El Pail. Archived from the original on 17 October 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  4. ^ a b Newdick, Thomas. "Russia Bombards Ukraine With Iranian 'Kamikaze Drones'". The Drive. Archived from the original on 17 October 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  5. ^ Boffey, Daniel (19 October 2022). "Financial toll on Ukraine of downing drones 'vastly exceeds Russian costs'". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  6. ^ Gordon, Chris (20 January 2023). "Cheap UAVs Exact High Costs". Air & Space Forces Magazine. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  7. ^ a b "IRGC confirms specs for Shahed-136 attack UAV". Janes Information Services. 17 May 2023. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023.
  8. ^ Dangwal, Ashish (19 October 2022). "Russia Has 'Upgraded' Iranian Shahed-136 Kamikaze Drones to Boost Its Lethality & Accuracy -- Military Experts". eurasiantimes.com. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  9. ^ Kahn, Lauren (26 October 2022). "Can Iranian Drones Turn Russia's Fortunes in the Ukraine War?". Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 26 November 2023. The Iranian-produced Shahed-136 (renamed by Russia as the Geran-2) is a loitering munition, although it is sometimes misleadingly referred to in media as a kamikaze or suicide drone.
  10. ^ a b "UK sanctions Iran over kamikaze Russian drones". gov.uk. 18 October 2022.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference defex was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference usip-20221017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ "Ukrainian experts identify Iranian producer of Shahed drones" (Press release). Kyiv: Ukrinform. 10 December 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2024. The Shahed-131\136 type one-way attack drones, which Russia has been using to attack Ukraine since September 2022, are produced by the Iranian state-run Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company