Reactive Shahd-238 will lose the main advantage of ShahED-136-military expert

The new "chewing" will become faster and more accurate than their predecessors, but the troops will not be able to use them in mass during attacks. The new SHAHED-238 drone in Iran has received technologies that give the military both advantages and serious disadvantages when compared to Shahd-136. The editor -in -chief of the Military Portal Defense Express Oleg Katkov told about it in a comment on NV.

In his opinion, Shahd-238, by its characteristics, is closer to the winged rocket thanks to the jet engine and a modified guide system. The drone first flies to the target according to the coordinates, as well as Shahd-136, but not just beats the point specified by the operator, but scans the terrain with the help of sensors in search of the desired object, and only then attacks it. Iran showed three variants of ShahED-238 with different guidance heads.

Oleg Katkov explained that they are designed to defeat different types of goals. For example, the standard for "Shahmed" combination of satellite and inertial guidance system will allow to attack stationary objects, such as the building, optical or infrared sensors-moving goals, and the radar system-aircraft, such as radars. The Shahd-238 engine, as expert assumes, will use an aviation kerosene as fuel.

The range of the new model flight is difficult to estimate, because it depends highly on a specific model of the power plant, the amount of fuel and the flight mode, but the speed will be uniquely higher than in the SHAGED-136 screw. At the same time, the installation of a jet engine and an advanced guidance system significantly increases the cost of a drone. This design deprives Shahd the main advantage in the form of cheapness and mass.

Oleg Katkov noted that the Iranian soldiers provided and protested new UAVs from a regular car. The starting installation was fixed on the body of the pickup, which on the straight section of the road dispersed to the starting speed of the drone and helped him to fly. With this approach, the analyst says, no special large launchers in the form of containers, as well as missile accelerators, which help the drone to develop the initial speed.

Earlier, Defense Express Development Director Valery Ryabykh called the Shahd-238 jet engines. According to him, the price of such power is about $ 10 thousand, which is several times more expensive than the engines of Shahd-136, but now Iranians have more opportunities for UAV production. Using two shahas types, it will be easier for manufacturers to receive components in the conditions of sanctions that limit Iran and Russia.