Russia is relying on deadlier attack drone models

War against Ukraine

Russia makes attack drones more deadly

Russia is pushing ahead with the further development of its attack drones. New models and weapons could pose additional challenges for Ukrainian air defense.

Russia has technically developed its attack drones in the war against Ukraine and is increasingly using more modern variants. This emerges from information from the Ukrainian military intelligence service HUR and from analyzes by Western experts.

After the Russian war of aggression began, Moscow initially deployed around 150 to 200 Iranian Shahed-136 drones per month. Russia later began serial production of its own replicas under the name Geran. These drones regularly attack Ukrainian cities in large swarms and are primarily used against civilian infrastructure.

In 2025, Russia launched almost 55,000 Shahed drones and corresponding variants, said data analyst Yasir Atalan from the US think tank CSIS, citing information from the Ukrainian Air Force. Although Ukraine has managed to intercept some of the comparatively slow drones, Moscow is working on faster and harder-to-fight models.

In addition to the propeller-driven Geran-2, according to HUR, Russia is now also using the Geran-3, which is said to be equipped with a turbojet drive and can reach significantly higher speeds. At the beginning of the year, another variant was used for the first time, which the HUR calls Geran-5.

According to the Ukrainian military, the Geran-5 is around six meters long and has a turbojet engine with higher thrust. Their range is estimated at around 1,000 kilometers and the warhead is said to weigh up to 90 kilograms. Unlike previous variants, their design is more similar to the Iranian Karrar drone than to known Russian developments, according to HUR.

Russia is therefore also examining new operational concepts for this drone. The launch of Sukhoi Su-25 fighter jets is to be considered in order to further increase the range. It is also being tested whether the drone can be armed with short-range air-to-air missiles.

Russia is already testing armament with short-range R-60 missiles on the Geran-2. According to Ukrainian experts, such drones could specifically hunt down Ukrainian helicopters and aircraft that have so far been involved in defending against Russian drones.

In addition, Moscow is apparently working on better networking its attack drones. According to military analyst Fabian Hinz from the International Institute for Strategic Studies, debris was found from Geran drones equipped with modems and antennas for so-called mesh networks.