As it turned out, there are several differences between the Russian Shahed-136 and the original Iranian drone. The Russian defense industry has abandoned the “bee” structure. Obviously, this was done to reduce the cost and simplify the drone production process.

Left: part of the Shahed-136 hull, right: Geranium-2

The navigation unit of the original Shahed is made in the form of an array of four antennas mounted on a board. The board is connected to the satellite navigation unit. At the same time, it is physically separated from him. Another antenna functions independently. In Geranium-2, four main antennas are part of the satellite navigation unit.

Russian engineers integrated the Kometa module into the satellite navigation unit. Such modules were previously found in Orlan-10 and Forpost-P drones.

The Comet module is used not only in Geranium-2, but also in Orlan-10 UAVs

“Geranium-2 received B-101 units designed for flight control. They allow the drone to continue performing its flight mission even if the satellite signal deteriorates. Simply put, a UAV can fly to a target without GPS.

The location of the navigation antennas (on the left, Shahed-136) is almost identical

The Russian defense industry lacks its own components for assembling drones. In Geranium-2, experts found more than 100 components manufactured by 22 different companies from seven countries, including the United States, Switzerland, and China.