Russians equip "Shahed" drones with turbojet engines, — DIU

Russians equip "Shahed" drones with turbojet engines, — DIU

The new Russian drone "Geran-3" is capable of covering up to 2,500 kilometers at a speed of 550-600 km/h thanks to a turbojet engine. Additionally, the Russians have increased the combat load of the "Geran-2" and "Harp" to 90 kg.

From the beginning of 2025, the enemy’s enterprises have established the production of new Russian "shahids" with a turbojet engine, allowing them to reach speeds of 550-600 km/h and cover up to 2,500 km, reports the Defence of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine.

The agency refers to information from the War&Sanctions portal, reporting that Russia has established the production of an analogue of the Iranian jet Shahed-238 — "Geran-3". The new drone will be equipped with a Tolou-10/13 turbojet engine, providing a speed of up to 550-600 km/h. This drone will be able to cover distances up to 2,500 km.

Additionally, the Russians have significantly modernized the Shahed-136 ("Geran-2", "Harp"): increasing its combat load to 90 kg, relocating the flight controller, power distribution unit, and battery, while also adding additional ballast to the UAV’s design.

The Defence Intelligence reports that the aggressor increasingly uses Chinese-made parts as an alternative to components from the USA and Europe. Specifically, in the 8-channel antenna of the latest versions of Shahed-136, the critical programmable logic integrated circuit XILINX Kintex-7 made in the USA was replaced with an analogue produced by Beijing Microelectronics Technology from China.

It is also reported that Russian drones have received new series: UAVs from the Yelabuga economic zone received the "Ъ" series in addition to the "Ы" series, while those produced at the "Kupol" plant in Izhevsk were supplemented with the "KC" series to the existing "K" and "KB" ones.

The "Gerbera" drones produced by the plant in Yelabuga, which were previously without combat parts and used only for imitation, are now equipped with a high-explosive fragmentation OFBCH-2.5 manufactured by the "Bazalt" enterprise and engineering ammunition KZ-6.