Iran’s Shahed-238 jet: new photos and design details have been released
New and much better photos of the Shahed-238 kamikaze jet drone, often referred to as the “jet Shahed”, have been published in Iran, seeing it as a new version of the Shahed-136.
We would like to remind you that the first presentation of these drones was held specifically for Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei at the Ashura University of Aerospace Sciences and Technology in November. But then the image quality did not allow us to get a better look at the UAV.
But the new photos were taken from different angles and are of higher quality. And because of them, the drone is still stored at the same university and is actively gathering dust. The pavilion itself is nothing more than an exposition of various Iranian-made UAVs.
At the same time, all that unites the Shahed-238 with the Shahed-136 is only an aerodynamic solution. But the jet drone is smaller, which can be seen in the photo from a different angle.
Thus, the use of a jet engine could certainly increase the speed of the drone, but it seems to have reduced the payload placed in the nose of the drone. By the way, it received a different solution and a more complex shape was chosen with an “application” for an integrated layout to increase the lifting force.
At the same time, it is unclear what engine was used in the Shahed-238.
It should be noted that some specialized publications have already established the opinion that the Shahed-238 is equipped with a new version of the Iranian Toloue-10 engine, also known as the Mini-Turbojet 896. It is used on the Shahed-191, but the weight of this drone is 500 kg.
That is, these engines are designed for a fairly large aircraft with a significant weight, while even the larger Shahed-136 weighs about 200 kg. That is, it is quite possible that Iran used a smaller turbojet engine for the smaller drone, which is directly hinted at by the dimensions and placement of the engine air duct on the Shahed-238.
You don’t have to look far to find the small-sized W125 and W110 jet engines for 127 and 103 kgf, respectively, weighing 22 kg, 27.2 cm in diameter and 62.5 cm in length, in Beijing MicroPilot’s products, which also offers the MD550 engines used on the Shahed-136.
It is the engines of this type that may well be considered more likely to be used on the Shahed-238, given its size.
The Shahed-238 with a jet engine will, in any case, cost more than the Shahed-136, which offsets its main advantage as a relatively cheap long-range weapon. Of course, it will be difficult to shoot down with anti-aircraft machine gun fire, due to the higher speed of the Shahed-238, which can reach 400-600 km/h in cruising mode. But thanks to the jet engine, the infrared homing heads of the man-portable air defense system will make it much easier to capture it.
