Defense Express has exclusively obtained photos of warheads found in Shahed-136 suicide drones downed during the attempted attack on the night of December 11th, 2023. These belong to the new modification, known as Geran-K, covered in our previous detailed report.
This newly emerged type of loitering munition is made in russia, although still has a design similar to the iranian original, and carries a non-standard 40-kg high-explosive fragmentation warhead.
Read more: Strange Warhead Found in Downed Shahed-136: Not Thermobaric But Definitely New-Type
The received photos provide a valuable piece to the puzzle of the new weapon's origin and capabilities, since the markings survived after the drone's downing. The inscriptions support the hypothesis that russians used a warhead stripped off some air-launched missile for their new Geran-K. However, the exact name of this missile remains unknown.
The clue is the "МСНИ.372364.372. 6-223" identifier.
Open-source scouting leads to a contract that mentions a similar yet not identical code "МСНИ.372364.188." This deal is a request for supply of Product 95Ya6 (Изделие 95Я6) from GosNIImash machine building research institute, part of the russian Tactical Missiles Corporation JSC. The "Product" is a jet engine used in 57E6 interceptor missiles deployed by Pantsir-S surface-to-air missile systems.
On the other hand, the Pantsir's 57E6 missile has a warhead of only 22 kilograms, therefore, the new warhead of Geran-K wasn't taken directly from this missile after all.
Earlier Defense Express examined the new type of warhead deployed by Geran-K, one of the modifications of the HESA Shahed-136 loitering munition, launched by russian invasion forces to attack Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure. The findings refuted suggestions that this weapon deploys a thermobaric warhead, as the filling turned out to be explosive and fragmentation elements.
We also reported the appearance of Shahed drones equipped with 4G SIM cards and discussed ways to counter them.
Read more: The Ukrainian Air Force Discovers Advanced russian Drone with 4G Modem and Kyivstar SIM Card
