<p >On May 17 the Russian Armed Forces launched their largest drone attack to date against Ukrainian and allied targets. 273 single use Shahed 136 single drones and decoys were launched, of which approximately 60 are estimated by Ukrainian sources to have reached their targets. The Vasilkov Airfield southwest of the Ukrainian capital Kiev was among the confirmed targets hit, although the extent of the damage remains unknown. At an estimated cost of approximately $35-40,000 per aircraft, and considerably less for decoys, the total attack cost under $10 million to launch. The scale of the attack which Russia could launch for such a modest cost highlighted the considerable value of the Shahed 136. This cost is approximately equivalent to that of six 9K720 ballistic missiles from the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/iskander-successes-strike-artillery" target="_blank">Iskander-M system</a>, depending on exchange rates. The low cost drones are significantly easier to intercept and carrying much smaller payloads, but are also well suited to overwhelming their targets and engaging multiple low cost targets. The attack occurred days after a statement by U.S. President Donald Trump praising the Shahed 136 class for its speed and lethality, and calling for the United States to develop a similarly low cost drone class domestically.&nbsp;</p><p ><img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/05/18/article_6829db13b88150_18399412.jpg" title="Truck Destroyed in Russian Drone Strike on May 17"></p><p >The Shahed 136 was developed in Iran in the 2010s, and began to be utilised by the Russian Armed Forces against Ukrainian targets in September 2022. The drone has been produced under license in Russia under the designation Geran-2. When introduced, the aircraft&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/iran-s-shahed-136-drone-has-become-russia-s-primary-aircraft-for-striking-ukrainian-positions-unprecedented-attacks-near-odessa" >played a major role</a>&nbsp;in swaying the balance of power in the Ukrainian theatre, providing a much more&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/fateh110-missile-perfect-ukraine" >affordable and usable asset</a>&nbsp;for strike missions. This has contrasted with North Korea’s provision of larger and higher payload ballistic missiles to Russia. Arms supplies by the two states have thus been highly complementary, although supplies by Iran have been <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russia-details-nkorea-role-repelling-kursk" target="_blank">dwarfed by those</a> from North Korea. The impact of drone deliveries was such that senior aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Mikhail Podolyak, in November 2022 <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/zelensky-aide-wants-attack-iran" >called for an attack</a> on Iran specifically to retaliate for its&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/iranian-resupply-russia-thousands-drones" >drone supplies to Russia</a>. </p><p >Iran in 2024 <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/iran-4000km-strategic-game-changer" target="_blank">unveiled</a> a much longer ranged class of single use drone, the Shahed 136B, which has a larger airframe and much expanded 4000 kilometre range. Although this drone class has little utility for Russia to engage targets in Ukraine, it remains uncertain whether the Russian Defence Ministry has an interest in procuring it to be able to threaten targets deep within the territories of NATO member states.&nbsp;Employment in Ukraine has made the Shahed 136 by far the most prominent product of Iran’s defence sector, reflecting both the strength of its drone industry and the limitations of most other areas of its arms industry.</p>
Skip to content
SurvivalThat is all