AFU’s Air Force Command Explained How Far Iranian Kamikaze Drones May Travel, and Why They Are So Dangerous  

According to military officers, Iranian  Shahed-136 UAVs are extremely challenging targets for Ukrainian air-defence units, since these kamikaze drones are relatively small and may cover the distance measured in thousands of kilometers.

“This is a challenging target due to its relatively small dimensions. This drones have wing spread of 2,5 meters, total weight of 200 kilometers and warhead weight of 40 kg. This is essentially an artillery shell accelerating to the velocity of 120 km/hour and dropping down with extremely high speed when approaching the target”, Yurii Ihnat, the Spokesman of the AFU Air Force Command, said on October 5th. 

According to him, in their promo materials, Iranians claim that the UAV has a range of 2,5 thousand kilometers, however the experts are skeptical about these statements, since it would require too high fuel consumption for a UAV with such weight and velocity characteristics. According to Ihnat, existing evidences indicate that the actual range of these drones are around one thousand kilometers.

The Spokesman also reported that strike in Bila Tserkva was most likely carried out using the UAVs operated from southern areas, however more strikes could be expected from any direction, since the enemy might have deployed the drones both in annexed Crimea and Belarus.   

According to Ihnat, Russia has shifted from using high-precision missiles worth million dollar, such as Kh-101, Kalibr, Kh-555 and Iskander to cheaper UAVs.   

Now Ukrainian military needs more diverse air-defence systems, such as surface-to-air cannons and large-gauge machine guns to shoot down “Shaheds” at various stages.

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