Russia plans to increase share of jet-powered Shahed drones to 50% – military intelligence

Russia is betting on the production of jet-powered long-range drones and plans to increase their share to 50% of the total number of Shahed-type UAVs.

Source: Ukrainska Pravda with reference to Defence Intelligence of Ukraine

Details: According to information provided by the intelligence agency, the jet-powered drones Geran-4 and Geran-5 have already entered serial production, while existing capacities allow for the manufacture of up to 500 such UAVs per month. Mass production of Geran-3 is expected to begin in the second half of this year.

"The ultimate goal is to increase the share of jet-powered drones to 50% of the total number of Shahed drones," the agency said.

The intelligence service also stated that Russia plans to produce 60,000 long-range strike drones and another 50,000 decoy drones this year.

According to Ukrainian intelligence, the Geran-5 is a copy or analogue of the Iranian Karrar UAV. The drone can reportedly reach speeds of up to 600 km/h and "is essentially a small cruise missile or missile-drone, as they are called in Ukraine".

The agency added that the use of jet-powered drones currently "remains largely experimental".

"For launches, the Russians use so-called 'drone ports' in Oryol Oblast, as well as areas such as the territory of Donetsk Airport," intelligence officials said.

According to previously released data from Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, the Geran-5 has a maximum take-off weight of around 850 kg, a cruising speed of 450–600 km/h, a flight duration of up to two hours and an operational range of up to 950 km.

Its maximum flight altitude is officially listed as up to 6 km, although actual recorded usage has ranged from 200 metres to 3 km.

The Geran-5 also uses several components similar to those found in other Russian UAVs in the series, including the Kometa-M12 satellite navigation system with a 12-element antenna.

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