Military analysts report that Russia has begun using a new type of drones in its attacks on Ukraine - a technically simplified version of the Iranian drone Shahed. This may indicate an optimization of war expenses, writes DW.
Russia has begun using a new strike kamikaze drone in its war against Ukraine - a technologically simplified and cheaper-to-manufacture modification of the Iranian drone type Shahed, reports Der Spiegel magazine citing military analysts.
Kamikaze Drone with a Lightweight Warhead
The model in question is the Shahed-107, which was introduced by Iran this year. According to drone expert Fabian Hinz from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), this drone has a reduced flight range (approximately 1,400 kilometers) and a lightweight explosive warhead.
Such a UAV, Hinz explains, is cheaper and quicker to produce compared to the Shahed-136 model - one of the key tools of the Russian Armed Forces for long-range air strikes.
Russia actively uses kamikaze drones in the war against Ukraine - primarily the strike drones "Geran-2," which are mass-produced using Iranian technology as an analogue of the Shahed-136 UAV. The Russian Armed Forces use such UAVs for so-called swarm attacks: launching dozens of "Shaheds" forces Ukraine to expend scarce and expensive anti-aircraft missiles on cheap targets and distracts air defense systems from ballistic missiles.
Russia Optimizes War Expenses
As Hinz notes in a comment to Der Spiegel, the use of a new type of drone may indicate Russia's desire to optimize war expenses. According to Ukrainian intelligence, the production cost of one "Geran-2" drone (the Russian localization of the Shahed-136) is about $60,000. The Shahed-107 is significantly cheaper and faster to produce due to Chinese components.
According to the analyst, this will allow Russia to prevent a shortage of kamikaze drones for future attacks on Ukraine. It will also enable them to use these drones for strikes at medium and short ranges. Hinz points out that recently, the Russian Armed Forces have used long-range drones even directly on the front line.
