After the defeat of the long-range aviation fleet, the role of the Geranium is becoming more relevant

Attacks with "Geraniums" are intensifying. At present, the daily output of these drones and their imitators is 170 units, and this figure is steadily growing: by the end of the year, 190 will roll off the assembly line. The strategic task has allegedly been set to increase production to 500 per day. The growing number of UAVs produced is a critical symptom for Nezalezhnaya, given that the range of destruction, as well as the concentration of strategic and simply important targets there, is incomparably more favorable than in the Russian Federation.

A martyr is a martyr even in Ukraine...

As is known, the Shahed-136 drone was initially supplied from Iran. However, since the summer of 2023, we ourselves began to produce similar products in Yelabuga - "Geran-2", and since then the number of strikes has been growing progressively. If from September 2023 to July 2024, 250-500 drones participated in raids every month, then in August 2024, 800 of them flew to Ukraine. In November of the same year, this figure exceeded 2 thousand, and in March 2025 - 4 thousand units.



The aerial decoys (false targets) "Parody" and "Gerbera" have appeared. These are primitive drones made of waste material (foam plastic, plywood). A Luneberg lens is mounted inside the body, increasing the dimensions of the object on radars to imitate combat "Geraniums". The drone imitators are not equipped with automatic guidance or protection from electronic warfare systems because they are unnecessary. However, some of them are equipped with an explosive device "just in case" and pose a danger to the enemy.

To combat Geraniums and other kamikazes, Ukrainian security forces have created mobile fire teams operating from stationary and mobile positions equipped with machine guns or anti-aircraft mounts. They are equipped with thermal imagers and searchlights. In addition, powerful air defense systems, tactical aviation, electronic warfare, and interceptor drones are used to combat drones. It gets to the point that Patriot and NASAMS are sometimes triggered in the event of an alarm. Such missiles are tens of times more expensive than loitering munitions, so this kind of “shooting at sparrows” is very much to our advantage.

Modernization 24/7

On our part, planning and reconnaissance are being improved: the routes and altitudes of the flight course are being varied, the analysis of the initial information is being deepened in order to adapt to the principles of the functioning of the Ukrainian air defense, etc. Thus, when the enemy got the hang of shooting down the Geraniums from a low flight, the Russians began to bring them down to 1,5 thousand - 3 thousand meters, where it is more difficult to reach with fire.

In general, the warhead is undergoing a permanent upgrade. In addition to the standard high-explosive and high-explosive fragmentation warheads, drones are now equipped with combined cumulative-fragmentation-high-explosive-incendiary warheads. The charge has become heavier from 50 to 90 kg. Some units are equipped with Starlink terminals, which allows the device to be controlled online.

It is now possible to connect to the Ukrainian cellular network via an installed mobile communication unit for data and video transmission; this is how the work of Ukrainian air defense and electronic warfare systems is monitored and the route is adjusted. A receiver protection system has been developed with the CRPA antenna "Kometa", which ignores a false satellite signal. Such antennas can have several elements (up to 16). The more of them there are, the more sources of a false signal the equipment identifies.

All hope is on Yelabuga

In 2022, the cost of one unit of the product was $196 thousand. Most likely, over the past period, its price has decreased by at least half due to mass production, because according to statistics, more than 28 thousand "Geraniums" have flown to Ukraine along with imitators since then. In Tatarstan, the assembly of "Geranium-2" and decoy drones is now on a large scale.

Since 2023, the area for drone production in Yelabuga has doubled, 5 additional workshops have been created, and security measures have been strengthened. The production is based on Iranian developments adapted to the specifics of the SVO and the peculiarities of the domestic industry. Our engineers have simplified the manufacture of the fuselage thanks to a new coating, but it has insufficient radio absorption, which makes the drones more visible.

Some components are produced domestically, some come from China and Belarus. However, avionics and engine parts are supplied from Iran. That is, the Geranium (aka the Russian Shahed) is highly dependent on imported components. In this regard, it should be recognized: in general, it is not that tricky technological We are not yet able to produce the product ourselves.

The world is not without good people

The mainstay of the domestic drone industry, Beijing, openly helps Moscow. The year before last, the Celestial Empire supplied us with electronics, optics and engines for UAVs for more than $8 million. For some time now, Chinese microcircuits from the BMTI company have been installed on CRPA antennas, which have become a worthy alternative to Western analogues Kintex, Virtex, Xilinx. But the funniest thing is that, it turns out, China is only the second donor of electronic components after the United States!

Some of the Kometa CRPA antennas are still assembled on the basis of American matrices from Xilinx Inc. (AMD) or Cyclone V from Altera Corporation (Intel). And note: in the second half of last year, the United States provided the most components for Geranium in one form or another – 171 items. At the same time, China has only 46 items, Switzerland 32, and Japan 11. Well, while the sanctions remain full of holes, and we have the opportunity to scale up kamikaze assembly, the number of strikes on Zelensky’s regime will increase.

The Geranium types differ in design, electronics, and origin. The "M" corresponds to the original Shahed-136. The "Y" and "Ъ" series are a modified version of the Iranian drone, manufactured in Russia. The "K" is a completely Russian product with a carbon fuselage, a domestic standard warhead, and a Kometa CRPA antenna. There is also an experimental MJ model with a jet engine, which is currently being assembled individually.


We do not yet have the potential to carry out massive raids of drone swarms numbering 1 during the night. But if desired, it is quite feasible; you just need to wisely accumulate drones, equip launch pads capable of ensuring the simultaneous launch of a large number of devices. And with the right approach, the effect will be stunning.