Shahed-136 Copy Hopes to Improve America’s Defenses

The US Air Force has put out a rather ambitious call to the industry to commission a one-to-one copy of the Iranian-designed Shahed-136. This is a low-cost attack drone that Russia has been using heavily against Ukraine… and that the US wants to know just how to take down.

The request for information specifies that the drone must match the Shahed’s form, fit, and function, though the government isn’t providing any technical specifics. The point isn’t to create a fully functioning Iranian weapon, but rather a realistic target that U.S. forces can use to improve defenses against one of the cheapest and most prolific threats on today’s battlefield.

The solicitation covers at least 16 drones with the option for 20 more. Each must support a payload of 70 to 100 pounds and fly at least 50 miles. That’s well short of the original’s 1,200-mile range, but again, it just needs to fly long enough for the Air Force to shoot at it in tests.

Though the Shahed-136 costs somewhere between $20,000 and $50,000, interceptors used to stop them can run into the millions. That price imbalance has made the drones attractive to Iran, its proxies, and now Russia, which has produced them under the name Geran-2 and fired them in swarms over Ukraine.

Additionally, the drone’s slow speed and small radar profile have proved difficult to counter with traditional air defense systems. These traits not only make them more annoying to get rid of, but also more challenging to train against without a decent stand-in.

Defense firms are already circling the opportunity. SpektreWorks, based in Arizona, has pitched its Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System, while Alabama’s Griffon Aerospace has introduced the MQM-172 Arrowhead, both designed to mimic the Shahed’s performance.

For now, the plan is to send the replicas to Eglin Air Force Base in Florida for testing under the Armament Directorate. If all goes as intended, the Air Force will soon have a small fleet of fake Shaheds to practice shooting down before getting up close and personal with the real thing.

FMI: www.af.mil