US, China and Japan tech discovered inside Russia's Shahed drone
Photo: Russian Shahed-238 kamikaze drone (Russian media)
The Russian turbojet Shahed drone contains components from the US, China, Switzerland and other countries, according to Ukraine's Defense Intelligence (HUR).
More than half of foreign components of the Geran are American
Inside the Russian jet drone Geran-3 of the U series, which is an analogue of the Iranian Shahed-238, there are many foreign-made components. Of 45 identified components — half are from the United States, eight from Chinese manufacturers, seven Swiss, three German, two British and one Japanese.
The Russian drone has a Chinese Telefly JT80 turbojet engine, which allows speeds from 300 to 370 km/h; the operational range is up to 1,000 km. The maximum speed of the Geran-3 is reached mainly in areas covered by Ukrainian air defense and electronic warfare systems, in zones where interceptor drones are used, and during terminal flight stages when descending on the target.
Similarity to previous drone models
The HUR says the layout of modules and electronic units of the Geran-3 hardly differs from the gasoline versions Geran-2. The unmanned vehicles are equipped with an SADRA inertial navigation system, an air pressure measurement unit (ADC), a power distribution unit (PDU), and so on.
Protection of satellite navigation from EW is provided by an anti-jamming satellite navigation system with a 12-element adaptive antenna array (CRPA) called Kometa-M12. The Geran-3 of the U series is fitted with a camera and a video transmission system from the Geran-2.
The Geran-3 became the eighth example of weaponry used by Russia whose construction was shown as part of the "Means of destruction" series of publications.
Overall, the "Components in weapons" section of the "War&Sanctions" portal has already collected more than 5,000 foreign components identified in 177 samples of weaponry of Russia and its allies.
Thousands of drones per month
HUR spokesperson Andrii Yusov said that Russia can produce up to 2,700 kamikaze Shahed-type drones per month. He also noted that the Russians manufacture a large number of decoy drones that do not have a warhead.
Russia uses more than 100 foreign components to manufacture rockets and drones, so Iran is not the only country helping to arm the aggressor.
Read more about components the Russians use in the production of kamikaze drones in the RBC-Ukraine article New tech, new threat: Inside Russia's upgrade of Iranian drones and Ukraine's countermove.
