Shahed-136 Drone: Range, Cost and How Iran’s Attack Drone Works
Shahed-136 range and cost: the Iranian one-way attack drone Russia calls Geran-2 flies up to 2,500 km and costs an estimated $20,000 to $50,000.
The Shahed-136 is an Iranian one-way attack drone: a small, propeller-driven aircraft that flies to a target and explodes on impact. Russia fires it at Ukraine under the name Geran-2. Its appeal is simple arithmetic. It is cheap to build and costly to stop. This explainer covers Shahed-136 range and cost, its payload, and how the United States has tried to cut off its supply chain.
What the Shahed-136 is
The drone has a delta-wing body with vertical stabilizers above and below the wing tips, according to a U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) visual comparison of drones recovered in Ukraine and the Middle East. DIA found that engines recovered in Ukraine appear to be Iranian-made MD-550 engines, the model used in the Shahed-136. It also said Iran used Shahed-136 drones in the 2021 attack on the merchant vessel Mercer Street.
The Treasury Department identifies the designer and manufacturer as Iran’s Shahed Aviation Industries Research Center, a firm under the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force. Treasury also links Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company (HESA) to production of the model.
Shahed-136 range, payload and speed
The CSIS Missile Defense Project compiles these published figures:
| Feature | Shahed-136 | Shahed-131 |
|---|---|---|
| Range | 1,000–2,500 km (DIA estimate: 2,500 km) | 700–1,000 km (DIA estimate: 900 km) |
| Payload | 20–50 kg | 10–20 kg |
| Length | 3.3–3.5 m | 2.6 m |
| Wingspan | 2.5–3 m | 2.2 m |
| Weight | About 200 kg | About 135 kg |
| Speed | About 180 km/h (reported) | |
Exact dimensions likely vary with design changes, CSIS notes. The drones are launched from tilting truck-mounted containers using a short-burn rocket booster, and reportedly from portable single launchers.
How much does a Shahed drone cost?
Analysts estimate a Shahed costs roughly $20,000 to $50,000, CSIS reports. That low price comes from heavy use of commercially available parts. CSIS traces the Shahed-136’s 50-horsepower engine to the German-designed Limbach L-550. Russia has produced new warheads for the drone, and both Russia and Iran have painted some units matte black to make them harder to spot at night.
Following the supply chain
Because the Shahed relies on imported parts, the Treasury Department has targeted the networks that buy them. In March 2023, Treasury sanctioned a China-based network it said shipped thousands of aerospace components, including light aircraft engines applicable to Shahed-series drones, to HESA. In September 2023 it sanctioned a network in Iran, China, Hong Kong, Türkiye and the UAE that procured servomotors for the Shahed series. Treasury said one of those servomotors was recovered from a Russia-operated Shahed-136 shot down in Ukraine.
“Iranian-made UAVs continue to be a key tool for Russia in its attacks in Ukraine,” Brian E. Nelson, then Treasury’s under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said at the time. By then, Treasury had issued nine rounds of designations against Iran’s drone program since September 2022.
What it means: Peter’s World analysis
The cost gap is the core of the Shahed’s impact. A drone priced in the tens of thousands of dollars can force a defender to spend far more on interceptors, or to accept damage. Mass launches compound that problem. Sanctions can raise the cost and slow production, but the reliance on commercial parts makes a complete cutoff unlikely. Russian modifications, from new warheads to night paint, show the design is now evolving outside Iran’s control.
For daily coverage, see the Russia-Ukraine war news hub and the Iran war news hub.
Sources
- Defense Intelligence Agency: Iranian UAVs in Ukraine: A Visual Comparison (via GovInfo)
- U.S. Treasury: Treasury Sanctions Transnational Procurement Network Supporting Iran’s One-Way Attack UAV Program (Sept. 27, 2023)
- U.S. Treasury: Treasury Targets Iran’s International UAV Procurement Network (March 9, 2023)
- CSIS Missile Defense Project: Shahed-131 and -136
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