Illustrative image.
Video footage emerged online on April 10 showing a recent strike with Russia’s latest Geran-5 jet-powered suicide drone.
The strike targeted a fuel and gas facility near the settlement of Moshenka in the Ukrainian region of Sumy, some 50 kilometers away from the border with the Russian region of Belgorod. The video, which included live feed from what appears to be an optical seeker installed in the nose of the Geran-5, shows a direct hit.
According to the footage, the Geran-5 was launched from a position in Belgorod located 150 kilometers away from Moshenka.
The presence of the Geran-5 was revealed through documents leaked by the Ukrainian intelligence earlier this year. Its use has been documented more than once since then, though this is the first time it has been seen in action in footage released by the Russian side.
While the Geran-5 is commonly described as a jet-powered suicide drone, its overall design is similar to that of a land-attack cruise missile.
It is six meters in length, and has a wingspan of 5,5 meters, with the jet engine, reportedly some copy of the Chinese Telefly, mounted on top.
A description at the start of the recently-released footage states that the Geran-5 has a range of 600 kilometers with a 50 kg warhead and a speed of 350 kilometers per hour. However, the documents leaked by the Ukrainian intelligence said that it has a range of 1,000 kilometers with a 90 kg warhead and a speed between 450 and 600 kilometers per hour.
The Geran-5 is reportedly equipped with a jamming-resistance 12-channel “Kometa” GLONASS-aided inertial navigation system. It also utilizes a 3G/4G modem for secondary navigation, and possibly as a data-link.
The new footage revealed that the Geran-5 can be also equipped with an optical seeker, although it is unclear if this system aids in guidance during the terminal phase, or if it is just used for damage assessment. The footage also confirmed that it is capable of cruising at a very low altitude.
One very interesting claim from the documents leaked by the Ukrainian intelligence earlier this year is that the Geran-5 can be air-launched from Su-25 attack jets, which can carry two.
The documents also claimed that the Geran-5 can be armed with an R-60M short-range air-to-air missile and used as an interceptor.
The Geran-5 was apparently developed to fill the gap between suicide drones and cruise missiles, while keeping the cost as low as possible.
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as of april 10 many russian and chinese missile, drone and air defense system are arriving in large numbers before the 2 week ceasefire ends. jd dance will waste his time in pakistan.
iran will not give up their control of hormuz without having sanctions lifted or war reparations.
iran can recoup all their losses from the toll system for as long as they want.