The combat capabilities of Russia’s Shahed-136 strike drones, which are used to target Ukraine, have been upgraded, according to recent claims that have appeared. Due to these enhancements, the combat payload weight has been significantly increased, going from fifty kilograms to ninety kilograms. The technical slides that contained this information were made available by the Telegram channel known as “Russia no context,” they are currently awaiting official validation.
In addition, the sources indicate that there has been a reduction in the amount of fuel that is consumed for the strike drone, along with a considerable extension of the flight radius by 140 kilometers. The images indicate that a fragmentation-high-explosive-incendiary warhead with the name “BC-90” and a weight of 90 kilograms has been developed for the Shahed-136 strike unmanned aerial vehicles, referred to as “Geran-2” in Russia. Compared to the payload that is currently carried by the majority of Shahed-136 drones that are employed by Russian forces to target Ukrainian targets, this warhead weighs forty kilograms more.
Additionally, thermobaric warheads have been developed specifically for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and several drones already have this technology installed. Plans are in place to supply “Alabuga” enterprises, where Shahed strike UAVs are manufactured, with 30 test and 1000 fragmentation-high-explosive-incendiary warheads, along with 3000 thermobaric warheads and 5000 fragmentation-high-explosive-incendiary warheads.
In addition, the discovery of GSM signal trackers equipped with SIM cards from the Ukrainian mobile network on these unmanned aerial vehicles enables real-time surveillance of the drone’s location, as well as hits or destruction by air defense. The device may identify jamming and GPS signal spoofing zones, and encrypted data regarding any changes in flight missions can be transmitted over Telegram.
One possibility is to outfit unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) of the Shahed type with communication devices analogous to those found on Russian surveillance UAVs equipped with ground control stations. These improved strike drones are designed for military operations, specifically for striking fortifications and vehicles. Notably, in March, Ukrainian forces successfully downed a Russian Shahed-136 drone equipped with video and communication gear.
