Shahed-136 (Geranium-2)

The Shahed-136, rebranded by Russia as "Geran-2" (Geranium-2), is an Iranian-designed loitering munition — a category of weapon that combines features of a cruise missile and a drone. Russia began using them to strike Ukrainian cities and infrastructure from September 2022, launching them in "swarms" to overwhelm air defenses.

Mass saturation strikes against energy infrastructure, cities, and military logistics Ukraine has been the primary target of mass Shahed strikes, with Russia launching them in waves of 10–100+ to overwhelm radar and intercept capacity. Ukraine has shot down the majority using Gepard, Iris-T, Patriot, and small arms fire. Ukraine also developed its own countermeasures including drone intercept teams.

Russia (designated Geran-2). First documented use in Ukraine: 2022-09-13.

Very cheap — swarms can overwhelm expensive air defense missiles Long range — can be launched from deep inside Russia Hard to detect on radar due to small size and low altitude Can strike precise infrastructure coordinates via GPS

Slow speed makes it vulnerable to aircraft, short-range AA guns, even small arms Low payload — not effective against hardened military targets Cannot be redirected once launched (no man-in-the-loop) Loud engine — audible approach warns civilians

The Shahed-136 (Geranium-2) has a range of ~2,500 km (estimated). Russia launched over 3,000 Shahed drones at Ukraine in 2023 alone. They specifically targeted power plants, substations, and water infrastructure, causing massive civilian harm in winter 2022–2023 and 2023–2024.