Geranium (military UAVs)

History

2026: The beginning of the use of Gerani-5 in Ukraine

In January 2026, personnel appeared of the wreckage of a new drone, which appears in the reports of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as "Geran-5."

It is made according to the normal aerodynamic scheme and is equipped with an improved version of the Telefly jet engine, which was already encountered by Gerani-3.

The documents of the Armed Forces of Ukraine mention the possibility of equipping drones with air-to-air missiles. Previously, they were already put on Geran-2, and - according to some reports - they already have downed enemy helicopters on their account.

The new drone is equipped with a 12-channel satellite navigation module "Comet" and a tracker based on the Rasberry Pi computer. Control can also be carried out using 3G and 4G signals through a mobile network, which has already been implemented on other devices.

With all external differences, the new UAV is largely unified with other types of Geranya, which facilitates the increase in production and has a positive effect on the price of the product.

2025

New modifications of Geranium attack drones with a jet engine at speeds up to 600 km per hour

By October 2025, wreckage of a new model of a drone equipped with a jet engine was found in the territory controlled by Ukraine. In the media field, this modification was called "Geran-3."

How is it different from earlier models?

The main feature of the new type of UAV is the turbojet engine, which allows it, according to some sources, to develop a cruising speed of up to 600 km/h and accelerate to 700 km/h in a dive.

The increase in flight speed significantly complicates the work of mobile fire groups of the Armed Forces of Ukraine armed with small arms. This forces the enemy to use scarce medium and short-range air defense systems.

This partly solved the problem of insufficient efficiency in hitting the Geranhou-2 target, which, even with a direct hit, could inflict only limited damage on the target. The most pronounced advantages of the new model were manifested during the autumn campaign of strikes on the power of Ukraine.

Nevertheless, Geran-3, due to its higher cost, is still unlikely to be the main means of defeating the enemy's infrastructure, Rybar wrote. This role continues to be borne by her predecessor, who also received many improvements over the past few months.

What did Geran-2 add?

The drone communication unit was modified. The latter samples began to have a built-in repeater everywhere, allowing each UAV to act as a signal transmitter for the rest of the group.

Together with the installation of night vision devices and cameras for flight control, this increased the overall efficiency of Geranei. Now operators are able not to lose contact with the entire group due to the interception of several drones, as sometimes it happened before.

The changes also affected the combat unit of the UAV. Over the past few months, models have been seen both with an increased mass of up to 90 kilograms, and with compartments for dropping cluster ammunition and anti-tank mines.

This expands the capabilities of the combat use of "Geraniums," allowing you to modify each drone for specific types of tasks and combine them during raids.

Russian manufacturers were not only able to significantly expand the total number of Geranya produced, but also to give the armed forces an expanded toolkit for their use.

The massive use of new modifications of Geranei in combination with other means of destruction caused serious damage to the fuel and energy complex Ukrainv.

Production of Geranei-2 is localized and rapidly improving

How does Geran-2 differ from the Iranian original Shahed for June 2025?

Engine: the Chinese gasoline MD 500 is on the original Shaheds, but the manufacturer has almost completely localized the product with modifications. Now Gerani-2 can reach speeds of up to 200 km/h (versus 180 for the original), as well as dive at a target at a speed of 400 km/h, which reduces the likelihood of interception.

Computer system: the production of boards of the "on-board computer" is almost completely localized, the technical process and flaw detection have been improved due to automation, improvements have been made. The quality of products has significantly increased compared to the original.

Communication and interference control: the system was successively improved up to the installation of a 16-antenna receiver, a radio channel was added to change the coordinates of the target in the air, and the anti-spoofing algorithm was improved. If the original Shahed is launched, it will not even be able to cross the LB due to interference, and Gerani-2 will fly anywhere.

Warhead: for increased armor penetration, a combined warhead with high-explosive fragmentation, cumulative and incendiary action weighing 90 kg (versus 50 kg for the original) was developed. This allows you to more effectively hit protected targets.

Case: completely localized with improvements up to black, making it difficult to detect visually during night attacks.

Launcher: In addition to full localization, improvements have been made that reduce the time between deployment and launch of the drone.

Only the shape of the corps remained from the Iranian Shahed-136 in Gerani-2. The rest is not just produced in Russia, but sometimes very seriously improved.

Developers are improving the product and launching new ones. The Web has already received modification personnel with a video channel for the possibility of "free hunting," as well as products with a jet engine.

Flight at an altitude of 5 km

At the end of May 2025, it became known that the Russian Geran attack drones began to fly at record altitudes reaching almost 5 km. This makes drones invulnerable to mobile enemy air defense groups, such as pickup trucks armed with large-caliber anti-aircraft machine guns.

According to the resource "Military Review," the new drones "Geran" reach the ceiling of 4900 meters, where it is impossible to get them with a machine gun. This increases the efficiency of missions: drones go to the target at high altitude and attack without hindrance. In addition, Gerani received a more powerful warhead: the devices are capable of carrying a 90-kilogram charge on board instead of the previous 50 kg. Thanks to this, the defeat of larger and fortified objects is possible.

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Фото: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

The head of the Bureau of Military-Political Analysis, Alexander Mikhailov, told TASS that in Russia the production of Geran-2 drones was loaded at full capacity. According to The Economist, in 2024, about 300 of these drones were manufactured in the Russian Federation. As of May 2025, such an amount of Geranei is produced in less than three days. According to The Economist, in the future Russia plans to increase the production of these drones to 500 copies daily.

These are real numbers. Russia has established one production line, established a second line. These production lines can and should be expanded, especially since we see the effectiveness of these new drones, "Mikhailov emphasizes.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the development of unmanned aircraft in the country requires promising developments in the field of microelectronics, energy storage and storage, new materials and artificial intelligence systems. One of the main tasks is to create sovereign solutions "for all the main components of drones."^[1]

Start of serial production of Geran-3 drones

On February 18, 2025, it became known that mass production of the Geran-3 attack unmanned aerial vehicle was organized in Russia. This drone is equipped with a jet engine.

According to Military Review, Geran-3 is allegedly an analogue of the Iranian drone Shahed-238. This drone is equipped with a dual-circuit turbojet engine: the device is capable of speeds up to 600 km/h, which makes it practically invulnerable to mobile air defense groups armed with anti-aircraft machine guns and auto guns. The Iranian drone can hit targets at a distance of up to 2500 km. There are three modifications to the Shahed-238. The base model is equipped with an autonomous GPS-based guidance system. Another option captures the target in the infrared and optical bands. The third version is equipped with a radar guidance system: this modification is designed to neutralize enemy air defense systems.

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Фото: Telegram channel Reporter Rudenko V

Rossiyskaya Gazeta notes that the Geran-3 jet kamikaze drone has a wingspan of 2.5 meters and a length of 3.5 meters. The device can carry almost five times more explosives on board than its predecessor, Geran-2. The take-off mass is more than 200 kg, the mass of the warhead is about 50 kg. The drone is invisible on radar and uses satellite navigation to orient in space and follow the route. At the final stage of the flight, an optoelectronic module is used for more accurate targeting.

Drones of the Geranium family can work in complex with drones of other types. In one attack, as noted by Rossiyskaya Gazeta, up to 200 unmanned aerial vehicles of different types can be involved, which increases the efficiency of the mission.^[2]

According to Komsomolskaya Pravda, citing retired colonel, military expert Viktor Baranets, the Geran-3 drone has become faster and more powerful, and its speed when diving at the target reaches 700 km/h. This is three times higher than the corresponding indicator of Gerani-2, which greatly complicates the interception of the device by anti-aircraft artillery. Geran-3 has a power comparable to a cruise missile. Its cruising speed reaches 550-600 km/h, says Baranets.

Geran-3 drones are capable of working in conjunction with devices of the previous generation. At the same time, swarms of drones of various types in the amount of 200 to 400 units can be formed, due to which the effectiveness of the combat mission is significantly increased and the work of enemy air defense systems is complicated. The new UAV is equipped with modern guidance systems - modifications with infrared sensors or passive radar guidance are possible.^[3]

Notes