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Russia’s Geran-3 Kamikaze Drone Fitted With 50 Foreign Components.

Ukraine’s military has published new information about Russia’s jet-powered Geran-3 attack drone.

It reports that the drones are full of foreign-made parts and appear to be immune to electronic warfare.

The Geran-3, modeled after an Iranian drone, is faster than its predecessor.
Russia’s new jet-powered attack drones are full of foreign parts and built with jamming-resistant technology to shield them from electronic warfare, the Ukrainian military said Tuesday.

Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, known as the HUR, published new details about the Geran-3, a Russian drone modeled after the Iranian-made Shahed-238, including what’s inside the deadly weapon.

The Geran-3 first appeared in Ukraine earlier this year, and the drone has since become a common element of Russian attacks. It’s a faster, more advanced iteration of the Geran-2, Russia’s domestically produced version of the Iranian Shahed-136.


Unlike the Geran-2, which is propeller-driven, the Geran-3 has a turbojet engine that allows the drone to move at speeds of up to 370 kilometers per hour (230 miles per hour) with a range of 1,000 kilometers (620 miles). The weapon is packed with explosives and detonates on impact after diving toward its target.

The Geran-3 usually reaches maximum speed in areas covered by Ukrainian air defenses and during the terminal phase of its flight, the HUR wrote in a statement shared to the Telegram messaging app.

The HUR said the Geran-3’s internal layout and electronic units are similar to those of the Geran-2 variant, and available data suggests this new jet-powered drone is equipped with the same camera and video transmission system as its predecessor.


But the Geran-3 is notably outfitted with a satellite navigation system that appears resistant to the extensive electronic warfare tactics used to counter drones on both sides of the war.


Nearly 50 foreign components are inside the Geran-3, with origins in a handful of Western countries — including the US, UK, Switzerland, and Germany — and China, the HUR said. Beijing has long been accused of providing critical technology to Russia, a claim it has denied.

Russia has been heavily sanctioned by the international community in the wake of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but while a country or company may not be involved in directly exporting its technology to Russia, it’s still possible for foreign-made parts to end up there via approaches beyond their control.

The Geran-3 is one of many Russian weapons that Ukraine has said are fitted with foreign-made parts, including those built by Western manufacturers.

The development of the jet-powered Geran-3 underscores Russia’s growing investment in one-way attack drone capabilities. Moscow has ramped up production of its Shahed-style drones and is producing thousands of these weapons — modeled after the Iranian versions — each month.

Russia is also building new launch sites for its attacks against Ukraine. It has demonstrated that it’s already capable of launching hundreds of drones in mass attacks — one bombardment earlier this month involved more than 800 drones — and Western intel assessments suggest that this figure could eventually reach 2,000 in a night.

Ukraine has responded to the recent uptick in drone attacks by rushing to mass-produce a large arsenal of interceptor drones. These systems, which can chase down targets, have emerged as a low-cost air defense solution. They can reportedly intercept the Geran-3 now.

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