Shahed-136, all about the Iranian drones used by Russia against Ukraine
According to Ukrainian authorities, Russia is using the Shahed-136 kamikaze drones sold by Iran. Here are all the details
“The morning is difficult. We are dealing with terrorists. Dozens of missiles, Iranian "Shahid".
Ukrainian President Zelensky wrote this today on his official Telegram account, referring to the Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones increasingly used by Russian forces, CNBC reports.
The Washington Post and CNN reported in the summer that Iran had sent a batch of unmanned aerial vehicles to Russia. According to the media, Tehran had sent the Mohajer-6, Shahed-129 and Shahed-191 drones to Russia on August 19. Iran had previously refuted claims that it provided Russia with Shahed-136-like weapons or drones, while the Kremlin did not comment.
On 6 October, Ukrainian authorities reported that they had managed to shoot down nine Iranian kamikaze Shahed-136 drones, known in Russia as Geranium, at night in the south of the country.
All the details about the Shahed-136 suicide drone, manufactured by the Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company.
IRANIAN DRONES USED IN UKRAINE
Russian forces have intensified the bombing of Ukrainian cities. Among industry analysts it is said that they were Iranian-supplied Shahed-136 kamikaze drones, which gave Moscow a new long-range strike capability.
On October 5, six drones hit a building overnight in Bila Tserkva, about 75 km (45 miles) south of the capital, Kiev region governor Oleksiy Kuleba said, Reuters reported last week. Ukraine has reported a series of Russian attacks with Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones in the past three weeks, but the attack on Bila Tserkva was by far the closest to Kiev.
The UK Ministry of Defense (MoD) said in its September 14 update: “The Shahed-136 is a one-way attack UAV with a claimed range of 2,500 kilometers. Russia is increasingly sourcing weapons from heavily sanctioned states like Iran and North Korea as its stocks dwindle. "
THE SHAHED-136 DRONES
The Shahed-136 is a small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that explodes on impact with the target. Because of its propensity to fly directly to targets, it is called a "kamikaze" drone.
Reports state that Tehran has several variants of Shahed drones. Although Iran has provided little information, the triangle-shaped Shahed is said to have a range of around 2,000 kilometers and can carry a warhead weighing up to 36 kg.
BUILT BY IRAN AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIAL COMPANY
The Shahed-136 drones are made by the Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company, a company subject to US sanctions, reports the specialized portal militaryfactory.com .
Although Iran's drone program has developed since the late 1980s, the country is subject to sanctions and many of the drones are believed to have been largely copied from foreign vehicles, Ukrainian news outlet Euromaidanpress points out.
The drone's motor is very economical but allows it to accelerate the device up to 150km / h, which is 20km / h faster than the Turkish drone Bayraktar TB2 used by the Ukrainian armed forces.
DIFFICULT TO IDENTIFY
Ukrainian Air Force Command Spokesperson Yurii Ihnat described the Shahed-136 as a small aerial target that mainly flies at low altitudes and is rarely detectable by radar, EurasianTimes reports.
THE COMMENT OF THE EXPERTS
Justin Bronk, a senior fellow at the British think tank Royal United Services Institute, explained on Twitter that: “The Shahed-136 offers a relatively inexpensive way for states and some non-state groups to launch long-range attacks on fixed targets (using GPS / INS navigation) or radar (using an anti-radiation finder). " Commonly referred to as a "suicide" drone, the drone hits a target by crashing into it along with the explosives on it. Bronks explains that Shahed's terminal navigation and accuracy are based on commercial GPS systems. Both can be nullified if the GPS is locked, locked or turned off. Additionally, its ability to carry only a warhead between 5-30kg limits its attack capabilities.
Finally, the drone also lacks the ability to hit moving targets and has minimal defense mechanisms against anti-UAV systems. Bronks notes that they are "slow and low-flying," which limits their use as swift and counter-attack weapons on the battlefield.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/shahed-136-tutto-sui-droni-iraniani-usati-dalla-russia-contro-lucraina/ on Mon, 10 Oct 2022 13:03:04 +0000.