Iran asked Russia for help - Israel has reason to be concerned

Iran has turned to Russia with a request to provide modern jet-powered strike drones from the Geran family. If Moscow agrees, Israel could face a more complex aerial threat than the slow Shaheds. The Financial Times reports that the request is notable because Russia has developed the technology it originally received from Iran and now possesses faster aircraft. Cooperation could now reverse direction: Tehran is interested in Russian developments.

Iran has asked Russia to supply modern jet-powered strike drones from the Geran family. If Moscow agrees, Israel could face a far more complex aerial threat than the familiar slow Shaheds, which are easier to detect and intercept. This was reported by the Financial Times, citing sources. Tehran's request is particularly notable because Russia, during its war against Ukraine, has significantly developed the Shahed technology it originally received from Iran and now has a family of faster jet-powered aircraft. Cooperation could effectively reverse direction: whereas previously Iran supplied Russia with strike drones and technology, now Tehran is interested in Russian developments. The main difference of the new aircraft is speed. Jet-powered variants can move several times faster than piston-engine Shaheds. The Russian Geran-3 reaches about 300–370 km/h, while some variants of the Shahed-238 are estimated at up to 600 km/h. The warhead mass is 50–90 kg. The Financial Times reports active use of the new jet-powered Geran-4 and Geran-5, which have become a serious problem for Ukrainian air defense. The interception effectiveness of the new aircraft was about 60%. For Israeli air defense, the transfer of such drones would mean needing to respond to targets between classic Shaheds and cruise missiles. The jet engine sharply reduces the interception window. Relatively inexpensive drones can be used in massive mixed attacks to overwhelm air defense. The author is Tomer Adoni.