Autor fotografie: Ministry of Defence of Ukraine / Public domain|Popisek: Drone Shahed 136 (illustrative photo)
Iran's Shahid 136 drone, known in Ukraine primarily as Geran-2, is probably the most frequently deployed suicide UAV in the world today. The device, based on israeli HARPY, stands out for its range and relatively low price.
According to the ODIN database, the Shahid-136 drone's warhead can carry up to 40 kg of munitions, which detonate when the UAV hits its intended target. The drone is most often launched by catapult from military or even civilian vehicles and then moves based on a conventional engine driving a two-bladed propeller. The maximum speed of the UAV is around 185 km/h. The wingspan of the Shahid-136 drone is approximately 2.5 metres and the length is about 3.5 metres. The weight of the drone with ammunition is 200 kg. According to the US database, the drone should also contain artificial intelligence capable of correcting its direction of flight.
The UAV can carry out missions up to a distance of 2,000 km based on a pre-planned target. It therefore does not move on the battlefield or search for potential targets. This is probably because the Iranian version of the drone does not yet include sensors or a camera. However, in mid-March 2024, the remains of downed UAVs of the Russian version of the Shahid 136 drone, Geran-2, were found in Ukraine with cameras provisionally attached. According to the Ukrainian military, these were most likely connected to a modem with KyivStar SIM cards and transmitted footage to the Russian operator.
According to the ADR, the Shahid 136 drones are developed and manufactured by the Iranian Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Company (also known as HESA), which is part of the state-owned Iran Aviation Industries Organization (IAIO). The activities of both companies are directly supervised by the Iranian Ministry of Defence and the military. The Shahid 136 drone was preceded in development by the Shahid 131 UAV, which is slightly smaller and 65 kg lighter than the upgraded version. However, according to the ODIN database, the Shahid 131 UAV would be composed of similar components to the Shahid 136 and would also be used to perform similar suicide missions. Unlike the Shahid 136, however, the Shahid 131 has the capability to carry only 10-15 kg of ordnance.
Shahid 136 developed from UAV HARPY
The Shahid 136 is a suicide drone that was first incorporated into the Iranian military in 2021. According to the Iranian military technology encyclopedia Jangaavaran, the design of the Iranian Shahid 136 drone is based on the Israeli UAV HARPA. According to the encyclopedia, the undamaged israeli drone was to reach the Iranian military through an unspecified route from Syria. If we take a closer look at the two UAVs, the Israeli and the Iranian, they are very similar in design, but the Israeli drone probably has a more elongated and possibly narrower warhead. The latest version of the Israeli drone also far exceeds the Iranian UAV in terms of performance.
In fact, the HARPY drone has been used by the Israeli military for more than 25 years, according to its manufacturer, IAI, and during that time the drone has undergone a number of innovations. The latest upgraded version of the HARPY NG drone is equipped with advanced jamming and is therefore primarily designed to destroy radars and other military equipment designed for airspace defense. HARPY NG is also capable of performing autonomous missions in which the drone locates and identifies the target itself and carries out the attack. The UAV is capable of distinguishing between functioning and non-functioning enemy equipment and, in such a case, calling off the attack itself.
Chinese version of NORINCO's Shahid 136 drone
However, the Shahid 136 drone is not the only copy of the Israeli HARPY drone. Most likely, the ASN-301 UAV from Chinese company NORINCO also represents one of the variations of HARPY. The Israeli drones were purchased by China in the 1990s, according to the Chinese encyclopedia of military technology CHINA DEFENCE, but the drones may also have entered the country through some other unspecified route. The range of the Chinese ASN-301 is 288 km and its flight speed is expected to be around 200 km/h. A variant of the ASN-301 was also on display at the Eurosatory 2024 military technology fair in Paris.
Deployment of Shahid 136 and Geran-2 not only in Ukraine
The Shahid 136 drone, despite its relatively recent introduction, is currently one of the most widely used drones in military conflicts today. In addition to the massive nightly Shahid-136/Geran-2 drone attacks in Ukraine, UAVs have also been used in the past to attack a US base in Syria in August 2022, according to The Washington Post. In the Iranian attack on Israel in April 2024, Shahid 136 drones were also most likely used given the distance between the two countries, which exceeds 1,000 km. At least 170 drones have been disabled in night defensive operations by Israelis, Americans, Jordanians and other allies. The Jordanians used their F-16s to defend their airspace and the Americans used, probably for the first time ever, SM-3 anti-ballistic missiles on Arleigh Burke destroyers.
By far the largest use of the Shahid 136 is currently in Ukraine, where the Russian military has been using Iranian drones, designated Geran-2, for its attacks on Ukrainian civilian and military targets since 2022. According to a May 2024 report by the Institute for Science and International Security, at least 5,628 Shahid 136 and Geran-2 drones had attacked Ukraine by the end of April 2024. Therefore, on average, at least 300-400 drones are sent to Ukrainian skies by Russia per month, of which at least 85% are defused by Ukraine's air defense forces. This is therefore a "unique" opportunity for Iran and Russia to test these drones and their reliability in a real military deployment.
The Shi'ite superpower subsequently used these findings to market the Shahid-136 drone, as seen at the DSA 2024 military technology fair in Malaysia in May. Initially, the drone's components were supplied directly from Iran, but as early as February 2024 Russia began deploying local production based on its own parts. The production of the drones in Russia is being handled by Alabuga, which, under a franchise agreement with Iran, is expected to deliver at least 6,000 Geran-2 drones to the Russian military by the end of September 2025. But the numbers are likely to end up being much higher, as Alabuga continues to ramp up the number of drones it produces per day, according to the Institute for Science and International Security.
The exact price of the Shahid drone or its Russian variant, the Geran-2, is not clear and is being debated. According to the Air and Space Forces magazine, the price of one unit should be around $20,000 (about CZK 458,320), but some experts, such as Howard Altman of the TWZ portal, estimate the price of the drone at up to $50,000 (about CZK 1,145,800). However, the price of UAVs may change given that Russia will likely soon have a fully owned drone manufacturing facility. Indeed, Russia will save a lot of money not only on transportation, but also on parts. For more on the differences in the design of the Shahid 136 and Geran-2 drones, see this text or the Geran-2 UAV article.