The Shahed 131, or Geran-1 in Russian service, is an

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

-made

drone Drone most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...

which came to prominence in October 2022 during the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. ...

. It is powered by a

Wankel engine The Wankel engine (, ) is a type of internal combustion engine using an eccentric rotary design to convert pressure into rotating motion. It was invented by German engineer Felix Wankel, and designed by German engineer Hanns-Dieter Paschke. ...

model Shahed-783/788. Janes created an in-depth technical summary of the machine.

Design

The Shahed-131 is powered by the Serat-1 Wankel engine, which is a copy of the Beijing Micropilot UAV Control System Ltd MDR-208 Wankel engine. An engine of this type was used for the drone in the 2019 Aramco attack in Abqaiq, which was referred to the UN Secretariat as part of the Resolution 2231 2020 investigations. The Shahed-131 flight control unit was found to be able to connect with Iridium satellites, which in theory allows the flight path to be altered mid flight. The flight controller has a backup

inertial navigation system An inertial navigation system (INS) is a navigation device that uses motion sensors ( accelerometers), rotation sensors (gyroscopes) and a computer to continuously calculate by dead reckoning the position, the orientation, and the velocity (d ...

by MEMS gyroscope. Its primary instructions are derived from a commercial-grade GPS unit. Designs for the Kentron ARD-10 loitering drone were sold to Iran Aviation Industries Organization in 2004/5 and used by

Shahed Aviation Industries Shahed Aviation Industries Research Center (مرکز تحقیقات صنایع هوایی شاهد) is an Iranian aerospace company known for designing military helicopters and UAVs. They are associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ...

to develop the Shahed 131 and Shahed 136 drones, according to ''Air Forces Monthly'' magazine. However a

Royal United Services Institute The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI, Rusi), registered as Royal United Service Institute for Defence and Security Studies and formerly the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies, is a British defence and security think tank. ...

article states the origins of the Shahed 131 are obscure. Its warhead weighs 15 kg and its launch range is 900 km.Russia’s Iranian-Made UAVs: A Technical Profile
''

''. 13 January 2023.

Operational history

It has been alleged the drone was first seen in the Arabian Peninsula when it was used to attack Saudi targets by the

Houthi rebels The Houthi movement (; ar, ٱلْحُوثِيُّون ''al-Ḥūthīyūn'' ), officially called Ansar Allah (' ''Partisans of God'' or ''Supporters of God'') and colloquially simply Houthis, is an Islamist political and armed movement that ...

. However ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'' reported that other types of drone were used in that attack. It was used in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, under a Russian name Geran-1.

Operators

* * : Used as the Geran-1.

Non-State Actors

* Houthishttps://defense-update.com/20220927_yemeni-houthis-display-iranian-drones-and-loitering-missiles.html#.ZBhTYPZBy38

References

External link

{{Shahed aircraft Shahed 136

149 149 may refer to: *149 (number), a natural number * AD 149, a year in the 2nd century AD *149 BC __NOTOC__ Year 149 BC was a year of the Roman calendar, pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Censori ...