Russia will put into production a new drone, much faster than the “Iranian” Shahed drones currently used, called “Geran” in the Russian military. The new plant will open in Tatarstan. As reported by The Wall Street Journal.
The American publication claims that Russia is launching a new production of drones, which will be assembled at a Yelabuga plant. Iran will supposedly play a major role in opening the plant, producing, you might guess, “Iranian” drones. The agreement was signed by Moscow and Tehran at the end of December last year.
According to the newspaper, Iran is moving its drone production to Russia to protect itself from possible sanctions that Western countries may impose for supplying weapons to the Russian military.
Earlier, in kyiv, it was repeatedly claimed that Russia allegedly uses Iranian Shahed-136 and Shahed-131 drones, which were given the Russian names “Geran-2” and “Geran-1”.
It was claimed that Moscow allegedly bought 400 drones from Tehran to attack Ukraine. Later, Ukrainian experts who examined the wreckage of the downed and fired drones found that it was impossible to determine the place of manufacture because of the stuffing.
And CNN reporters said that of the Shahed-136’s 52 parts, 40 were made in the United States, while the rest were made in Canada, Switzerland, Japan, Taiwan, and China. They even found Russian relays and board holders.
The Shahed-136 drone is quite simple to build, and its electronic stuffing is very good, clearly designed to improve it in the future; as they say, the drone is made with perspective.
Until now, Iran has mainly supplied Russia with so-called kamikaze drones, known as Shahed-136, which contain small amounts of explosives that detonate when the drones hit a target.
Russia is using drones to attack Ukraine’s energy systems. Subsequently, the Ukrainian Air Defense was able to neutralize the drone threat largely. The Shahed-136 is a slow and noisy propeller drone, making it relatively easy to spot and shoot down.
According to the authorities, Iran is developing with Russia the Shahed-136, which is expected to be equipped with a new engine that will allow it to fly faster and further. The new plant will produce an improved drone. This could create new problems for Ukraine and other countries that may become targets of drones.
As a reminder, on February 3, the US Treasury introduced sanctions against eight senior officials of the Iranian drone maker in response to Tehran’s supply of drones to Russia for the war against Ukraine.