Iran Improves Shahed-136: Kamikaze Drone Receives Optical Targeting Station (video)
Iranian engineers continue to improve the Shahed-136. Not long ago, they installed a jet engine in a barrage munition. Recently it became known that the kamikaze UAV also received an optical station. It is used to guide it to the target.
The modernized drone was featured in the documentary Parchamdar. The footage shows a Shahed-136 launcher mounted in the back of a pickup truck. To launch a barrage munition, it reaches high speed. The speedometer data shows that the pickup truck accelerated to 190 km/h.
A bullet-shaped optical station appeared in the nose of the Shahed jet. It is used to guide it to the target. In the movie, you can see the image from the drone’s camera on the operator’s console.
The film also notes that the new version of the Shahed-136 is more technologically advanced. This makes its production cost higher. It is worth reminding that the kamikaze UAVs used by the Russian army are equipped with a “blind” guidance system and a reciprocating engine.
According to experts, the installation of a jet engine in the Shahed-136 made it closer to cruise missiles. It will not be possible to use modernized drones as a means of terror, similar to their piston counterparts, due to their high cost and complexity of production.
