Illustrative image.
Russia is now producing upwards of 3,000 Geran-4 and 5 jet-powered drones, Ukraine’s Military news website reported on August 12, citing information from the country’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR).
The report said that the use of these drones is becoming increasingly widespread due to the improvement of their flight and technical characteristics, in particular to overcome Ukrainian air defense.
Despite the significant monthly output, the Russian Ministry of Defense is seeking to expand its production capabilities, according to GUR information.
The Geran-4 is a deeply upgraded version of the Geran-3, which is alleged to be a copy of the Iranian Shahed-238 jet-powered drone.
The drone retains the overall delta-wing design, but with improved aerodynamic and stealth features. It is also equipped with a more powerful turbojet engine — allegedly a copy of the Chinese Telefly TF-TJ1600A. It can reportedly reach speeds between 350 and 500 kilometers per hour, and has an effective range of 850 kilometers.
Meanwhile, the Geran-5 features a design that is more similar to that of a land-attack cruise missile, said to be inspired by Iran’s Karrar drone. It is reported to be propelled by a copy of the Chinese Telefly TF-TJ2000A turbojet engine, with a range of 1,000 kilometers and a speed between 450 and 600 kilometers per hour.
It’s worth noting that the Geran-4 and 5 can be equipped with an artificial intelligence-powered electro-optical targeting system, in addition to the basic jamming-resistant GLONASS-aided inertial navigation system.
While both drones are typically used for one-way attacks, they can be both reportedly armed with air-to-air missile and deployed as interceptors.
The Geran-4 and Geran-5 pose a major threat to Ukrainian air defenses by bridging the gap between cheap loitering munitions and cruise missiles.
The higher speeds of these jet-powered drones render Ukraine’s low-cost mobile fire groups and propeller interceptors largely obsolete against them. This forces defenders to rely on scarce, highly expensive missile systems like NASAMS or Patriot, severely straining ammunition stocks and saturating air defense networks with high-speed, mass-produced threats.
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