In the second half of 2023, Russia began to deploy Geran-2 loitering munitions produced on its own territory against a variety of military and civilian targets across Ukraine. This was preceded by the use of loitering munitions based on the Shahed-136 UAS, developed and produced in Iran, for a period of about one year. The new loitering munitions have a number of variations compared to the original Iranian UAS, mainly in the type of material from which they are made, the electronic components of the navigation systems, and some of the internal components. The most prominent difference is the design of the warhead, which has a different structure and a different initiation system, albeit its size is similar to the Shahed-136 warhead.
Since they began to appear, about four variations of different Russian Geran-2 loitering munition warheads have been documented, produced by several companies in the Russian military industry. Since September 2024, Russia significantly increased the number of Geran-2 loitering munition attacks it carried out against Ukraine. Some of the loitering munitions were equipped with thermobaric warheads, aimed at increasing the effect, both physical and morale, created by the weapon, while constantly endeavoring to evade and outsmart Ukrainian air defense systems.
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