Russia deploys upgraded Shahed drones with live targeting - military analyst

The analyst refered to recent wreckage of a downed drone and previously released photo evidence.

“As you can see, antennas are mounted on the wingtips," he stressed.

"Unfortunately — unlike the Gerbera drones — the modems and cameras can't be recovered; they usually burn on impact.”

Beskrestnov confirmed this is a new version of the Shahed drone, capable of being remotely operated online from Russia, which enables it to conduct reconnaissance and strike even moving targets.

ISW reports and growing concern

Back in April, analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) noted that Russian troops were using jet-powered kamikaze drones, labeled Geran-3, modeled after Iran’s Shahed-238, to evade and overload Ukraine’s mobile air defense units.

Earlier ISW reports confirmed that Russia began producing its own versions of the Shahed-131 and Shahed-136 drones with imported Iranian components as early as summer 2023, and that production of the Shahed-238 (Geran-3) began in 2024.