Russia’s New Turbojet Drone Is Souped up With US Parts, Ukraine Says

Ukraine’s defense intelligence agency, GUR, has identified over a dozen American and Chinese electronics parts that it says were found in a new Russian jet-powered attack drone.

GUR published its new analysis of the drone, dubbed the Geran-5, on Monday, as part of its ongoing directory of key foreign components used in Russia’s weapons or defense industry.

The intelligence directorate published images of what it said was the drone’s wreckage last week, saying that the Geran-5 was newly discovered after being used in an attack in early January.

Shaped like a traditional fixed-wing aircraft, the Geran-5 differs from past Gerans, which are delta-wing aircraft modeled after the Iranian Shahed drone.

GUR said last week that the Geran-5 closely resembles Iran’s Karrar uncrewed aerial vehicle, which in turn is believed to be modeled after the much older American MQM-107 Streaker attack drone.

At least nine of the Geran-5’s parts were produced by American companies, including digital signal processors, clock generators, and a transceiver, GUR said.

GUR said the drone also features a more powerful Chinese turbojet engine, allowing the Geran-5 to fly at up to 373 mph — much faster than the jet-powered Geran-3’s estimated 230 mph.

Three other parts, including a mesh network radio modem that retails for $8,100, were also sourced from China, GUR added.

One part on the list — the Geran-5’s transistor — is German.

Ukraine often warns that Russia’s military production base has been successfully evading international sanctions at a scale that allows it to manufacture a deep arsenal with foreign parts. Kyiv has long sought to compel international firms to introduce stringent due diligence programs to prevent their products from entering the black market.

GUR said in its initial report that the Geran-5 likely has a range of 600 miles and can carry a 200-pound warhead. The agency also said it had information indicating that Russia may seek to deploy the Geran-5 from Sukhoi Su-25 fighter jets, rather than from typical ground-based launchers, to extend its reach.

“Separately, the possibility of equipping the aircraft with R-73 air-to-air missiles to counter Ukrainian aviation is being considered,” the agency said.

The Geran drone family has come to describe loitering munitions that were based on Iranian designs but tweaked to be manufactured within Russia. Previous Gerans have taken inspiration from Tehran’s Shahed, and they’re so similar that they are often colloquially seen as synonymous.

The earlier Gerans are now one of Russia’s staple weapons against Ukraine, with the Kremlin manufacturing so many that it can afford to launch thousands of attack drones a month at Ukrainian cities.

Jet-powered versions of the Geran have been used more sparsely, though Ukrainian reports of the Geran-3’s use have grown increasingly common over the last year.