Shahed 131


The Shahed 131, or Geran-1 in Russian service, is an Iranian-made exploding drone which came to prominence in October 2022 during the Russo-Ukrainian war, when it was used by Russia to attack critical Ukrainian infrastructure and civilian targets. It is powered by a Wankel engine model Shahed-783/788.

Design

The Shahed-131 is powered by the Serat-1 Wankel engine, a 38-horsepower unit that is a copy of the Beijing Micropilot UAV Control System Ltd MDR-208 Wankel engine and is derived from the British AR 731 engine. An engine of this type was used for the drone in the 2019 Aramco attack in Abqaiq, which was referred to the UN Secretariat as part of the Resolution 2231 2020 investigations. The airframe is constructed from lightweight composite materials, including carbon fiber cloth or fiberglass with a honeycomb core, which contributes to its low radar cross-section.
The Shahed-131 flight control unit was found to be able to connect with Iridium satellites, which in theory allows the flight path to be altered mid flight. The flight controller has a backup inertial navigation system by MEMS gyroscope. Its primary instructions are derived from a commercial-grade GPS unit, which in later versions deployed by Russia has reportedly been modified with anti-deception algorithms to mitigate GPS signal alterations.
Designs for the Kentron ARD-10 loitering drone were sold to Iran Aviation Industries Organization in 2004/5 and used by Shahed Aviation Industries to develop the Shahed 131 and Shahed 136 drones, according to Air Forces Monthly magazine. However a Royal United Services Institute article states the origins of the Shahed 131 are obscure.
The Shahed 131 is visually distinguished by having vertical stabilisers that extend only upwards from the ends of the wings, while on the larger Shahed 136 they extend both up and down. It has a forward-mounted warhead compartment capable of accommodating 10 to 20 kg of explosives, enabling it to function as a kamikaze drone upon target impact. Warhead configurations observed include high-explosive charges with pre-formed fragmentation casings for area effects or shaped charge warheads for anti-armor capability.

Operational history

It has been alleged the drone was first seen in the Arabian Peninsula when it was used to attack Saudi targets by the Houthi rebels. However The Washington Post reported that other types of drone were used in that attack.
It was used in the Russo-Ukrainian war, under a Russian name Geran-1. A simplified version is also called Geran-3 where the diesel engine has been replaced with a DLE-60 twin gasoline engine. The use of the Shahed-131/Geran-1 by Russia is part of a strategy to employ economical, expendable platforms for precision strikes, often launched in swarms to overwhelm air defenses.

Operators