The Iranian Revolutionary Guards have announced the maximum cost of the Shahad-136 attack drone.
The maximum production cost of the Iranian Shahad-136 attack UAV is $20,000, said a representative of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), revealing an estimate of the production costs of one of Iran's most famous UAVs.
Shahad-136 is a stray munition designed to hit pre-selected targets. It flies to the specified coordinates and explodes on collision with an object. Unlike reconnaissance and reusable UAVs, such a device is not designed to return after completing a mission.
Iran officially unveiled Shahad-136 for the first time in 2021. The UAV has a delta wing, a piston engine and a pusher propeller located in the tail. The use of relatively reasonable components helps reduce production costs.
According to the data of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the weight of the device is about 200 kg, the length is between 3.3 and 3.5 m and the wingspan is about 2.5 to 3 m.
The speed of Shahad-136 is estimated at about 180 km/h. The flight range, according to various estimates, is between 1,000 and 2,500 km, and the mass of the warhead is between 20 and 50 kg. Specific features may vary by version.
For navigation, the UAV uses an inertial system and satellite signals that allow it to follow predetermined coordinates. At the same time, the stated value of $20,000 reflects the estimate of the Revolutionary Guards representative: there is no independent confirmation of this amount in the data provided.
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