Iran HESA (Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company)
Shahed-136
A low-cost, delta-wing loitering munition developed by Iran and mass-produced for one-way attack strikes against fixed targets. Russian-built copies, designated Geran-2, have been used extensively against Ukrainian infrastructure since late 2022, and figures on cost and production remain disputed public estimates.
In service since 2021 · 3 operator countries
Compiled from public sources ·primary reference ↗ ·last verified 2026-07-01
185
km/h
2,500
km range
4,000
m ceiling
💲 ≈ $50,000, Heavily disputed. Early press reports of USD 20,000 are now considered too low by most serious analyses. Leaked 2022 documents put Iran's asking price to Russia at USD 375,000, negotiated down to roughly USD 193,000 per unit including technology transfer, while Russia's own domestic production target was cited around USD 48,800, close to the figure shown here. Later Russian-built (Geran-2) units with added hardening were estimated near USD 80,000 by 2024. A minority view argues Iran's raw domestic manufacturing cost could be far lower, in the low thousands of dollars, based on Iranian factor costs rather than the Russian-negotiated price. Treat any single figure as directional.
Procurement snapshot
Availability & export
Sanctioned origin
Under multilateral sanctions; acquisition carries severe legal/financial exposure for most buyers.
Channel: State channel
Fielded & proven
Limited · 3 operators
In service since 2021. Status: active · ~10,000 built.
Lifecycle cost (est.)
$125K – $175K
Acquisition is only ~30% of lifecycle cost, operating & support dominate over ~20 yrs. Rough 2.5–3.5× the unit price. How we estimate this →
Interoperability
No standardised NATO calibre / datalink detected in public specs.
Derived guidance from public data, export regime by country of origin, lifecycle from the GAO ~30% acquisition rule. Verify eligibility, pricing and offsets with the manufacturer and your acquisition authority.
Overview
The Shahed-136 is a delta-wing, one-way attack drone: a rear-mounted piston engine pushes it toward a pre-programmed target area at highway speeds, where it dives into the target with a warhead of roughly 40-50 kg. Nothing about the airframe is exotic, and that is precisely the point. At a commonly cited cost in the tens of thousands of dollars, it can be launched in salvos large enough to saturate air defenses that fire interceptors costing fifty times more per shot.
Russia fields the type in localised production as the Geran-2, and its mass employment against Ukrainian infrastructure since 2022 created a new category of threat: the cheap, slow, persistent cruise munition swarm. May 2026 marked record monthly launch volumes against Ukraine even as interception rates climbed, an industrial duel between drone factories and air-defense economics.
In the 2026 Iran war the Shahed family was fired in large numbers at Gulf states, Israel and US bases, and allied strikes made its production plants a priority target. Iranian figures for the system are state claims and independent verification is limited; specifications here follow the most commonly cited public estimates.
Full specifications
Performance
Speed, range, altitude and engagement capability.
| Max speed Maximum level speed. For aircraft this is at optimal altitude; for ground vehicles, top road speed. Higher means faster response and better kinematic performance. | 185 km/h |
|---|---|
| Cruise speed Sustained economical speed. Determines transit time to station. | 160 km/h |
| Range Maximum distance: ferry range for aircraft, operational range for vehicles, maximum engagement distance for missiles. Higher means more standoff or persistence. | 2,500 km |
| Service ceiling Maximum operating altitude. Higher gives energy advantage and sensor horizon. | 4,000 m |
| Endurance Time on station. Critical for UAVs and patrol platforms, higher means longer persistent coverage. | 12 h |
Firepower
Armament, payload and guidance.
| Warhead Warhead mass. Heavier generally means larger effect radius, at the cost of range. | 40 kg |
|---|
Physical
Dimensions, weight and crew.
| Length Overall length including gun/probe where applicable. | 3.5 m |
|---|---|
| Wingspan Wingtip-to-wingtip span. | 2.5 m |
| Combat weight Fully loaded weight. Lighter eases transport and bridging limits; heavier often means more armor. | 200 kg |
| Crew Personnel required to operate. Fewer reduces exposure; autoloaders trade a loader for mechanical complexity. | 0 |
Propulsion
Engine, power and fuel.
| Engine Powerplant model and type. | MD-550 piston engine (reverse-engineered from a commercial model-aircraft engine) |
|---|---|
| Propulsion type Turbofan, turboshaft, diesel, gas turbine, solid-fuel rocket, ramjet… | Piston, pusher propeller |
Sensors & avionics
Radar, sensor suite and datalinks.
| Sensors IRST, EO/IR turrets, laser designators, sniper pods, thermal sights. | Electro-optical seeker (some variants) |
|---|---|
| Datalink Network connectivity: Link 16, MADL, national datalinks. Enables cooperative engagement. | GPS/GLONASS satellite navigation |
Program
Cost, production scale and operators.
| Unit cost Approximate flyaway/unit cost where public. Defense pricing varies hugely by contract, offsets and configuration. Lower is cheaper. | $50,000 |
|---|---|
| Units built Total production run. Higher means proven manufacturing, mature logistics and spares availability. | 10,000 |
| Operator countries Number of countries operating the system. More operators means broader support ecosystem. | 3 |
Specifications compiled from public HESA (Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company) and reference sources ↗. Published defense figures are approximations, treat comparisons as directional. Last verified 2026-07-01.
Compare with rivals
See how it stacks up
Turkish Aerospace Industries ANKA-S 
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-9A Reaper Head-to-head comparisons
Shahed-136 vs
Geran-2 
Harop 
Warmate 
GJ-11 Frequently asked questions
What is the top speed of the HESA (Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company) Shahed-136? +
The HESA (Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company) Shahed-136 has a maximum speed of 185 km/h.
What is the range of the HESA (Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company) Shahed-136? +
The HESA (Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company) Shahed-136 has a maximum range of 2,500 km.
How much does the HESA (Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company) Shahed-136 weigh? +
The HESA (Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company) Shahed-136 has a combat weight of 200 kg.
How many crew does the HESA (Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company) Shahed-136 require? +
The HESA (Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company) Shahed-136 requires a crew of 0.
What engine does the HESA (Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company) Shahed-136 use? +
The HESA (Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company) Shahed-136 is powered by the MD-550 piston engine (reverse-engineered from a commercial model-aircraft engine).
What is the HESA (Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company) Shahed-136 used for? +
The HESA (Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company) Shahed-136 is a uav / drone typically used for deep strike.
How many countries operate the HESA (Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company) Shahed-136? +
The HESA (Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company) Shahed-136 is operated by 3 countries.
How much does the HESA (Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company) Shahed-136 cost? +
The HESA (Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company) Shahed-136 has an approximate unit cost of 50,000 USD. Defense pricing varies by contract, offsets and configuration, treat this as directional.
Similar systems
HESA (Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company)
Shahed-131
HESA (Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company)
Shahed-238 (Geran-3)
Baykar
Bayraktar Akinci
UkrJet
UJ-22 Airborne
Related coverage
Shahed-136 in the news
Article news · Aug 16, 2026
A $2,000 Drone Now Undercuts Every UAV We Track
The Pentagon's Drone Dominance Program targets a $2,000 drone, undercutting all 19 priced UAVs in WeaponSpecs' 101-system database, some by 45x.
News technology · Aug 9, 2026
Russia's Starlink Rival Reaches Working Coverage Over Ukraine
Bureau 1440's Rassvet satellites now give Russian forces two-plus daily windows of live connectivity over Ukraine, enough to steer strike drones.
News procurement · Aug 7, 2026
Army Wants a Sub-$150K Missile to Kill $35K Drones at Scale
The Army's new Next Generation Counter-sUAS Missile targets a $150,000 unit cost and a 5,000-round buy, aimed at closing the cost gap that lets cheap drones overwhelm million-dollar interceptors.
News technology · Aug 7, 2026
Ukraine's SkyFall Drone, JetKiller Interceptor Enter Mass Output
SkyFall begins serial output of a $25-30K, 600km strike drone and starts mass-producing its 370km/h P1-SUN JetKiller interceptor this month.
News conflict · Aug 2, 2026
Kyiv Hit Again as Ukraine Runs Out of Patriot Interceptors
Russia fired 35 missiles and 185 drones at Kyiv overnight, only one of 27 ballistic missiles was intercepted, and Ukraine says it is out of Patriot rounds.
News conflict · Jul 27, 2026
Romania Downs Third Russian Drone in Three Days Over Black Sea
A Romanian F-16 shot down a Shahed-type drone over the Black Sea Sunday, the third intercept in three days and the 33rd airspace breach since 2022.
News conflict · Jul 20, 2026
Russia's largest Kyiv barrage since 2022 met by 400-drone Moscow hit
Russia fired 41 missiles and 125 drones at Kyiv overnight, its largest barrage since 2022; within a day Ukraine hit Moscow with 400+ drones.
Article comparison · Jul 16, 2026
What 'Range' Really Means on a Drone Spec Sheet
Across 36 UAVs in our database, published range spans a 33x gap, from a figure that matches true flight distance to one that is a control-link limit.
Article guide · Jul 15, 2026
The 10 Best Attack Drones of 2026, Ranked
A 10-to-1 countdown of the best attack drones of 2026, ranked on real combat record, strike precision, production scale and program maturity.
Article comparison · Jul 5, 2026
Shahed-136 vs Switchblade 600 vs Lancet-3: Range & Role
Iran's Shahed-136 is built for 2,500 km strategic strikes, while the US Switchblade 600 and Russian Lancet-3 are short-range 40 km tactical weapons.
News digest · Apr 1, 2026
March 2026 in defense: Iran war escalates, NATO hits 2% for all 32
Iran's largest missile-drone barrage of the war, a $20B Anduril counter-drone vehicle, Golden Dome's $185B baseline, and NATO's full-alliance 2% milestone define a month of escalation and spending.