Russia's deadly drone arsenal has become more powerful

Telegraph

27-05-2025

Russia has upgraded its Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones with 90kg warheads, boosting their destructive capability in the latest sign of deepening co-operation between Moscow and Tehran.
Shahed drones – launched in swarms almost always at night – have become a hallmark of Vladimir Putin's campaign to cripple Ukrainian infrastructure, triggering blackouts and damaging key power facilities.
The new combined warheads are being built as two different models, but both weighing 90kg. One is being built in Russia, the other in Iran.
The Russian-designed model, known as KOFZBCh, combines cumulative, fragmentation, blast and incendiary effects, meaning it can destroy buildings, scatter deadly shrapnel, spark fires and generate a powerful shockwave.
It is designed not just to destroy a specific target but to cause maximum chaos in its surroundings.
The Iranian version lacks incendiary capability but still delivers a powerful blow, according to Ukraine's Defence Express.
Pavlo Narozhny, a military expert and founder of Reactive Mail, which provides spare parts to the Ukrainian army, told The Telegraph that Russia needed to make its Shahed drones more powerful to counter protective measures put in place by Ukrainian energy companies.
'With this combined warhead, the main target is power infrastructure. But Ukraine's energy companies have been building concrete covers and installing nets made of steel… so Russia needs something to penetrate this infrastructure,' Mr Narozhny said.
He added that while they may be more powerful than standard Shahed-131 and 136 drones, they will need more fuel given their increased weight, making their range 'much smaller'.
It is not yet clear whether the upgraded Shaheds have been used in combat. But their development reflects the growing importance of drones in the conflict, as both sides race to innovate low-cost, high-impact technology, often for marginal gains on the battlefield.
Earlier this month, Kyiv reported on what was the largest drone attack of the war so far at the time, as Russia launched 273 Shahed drones across Ukraine.
The attack included a new jet-powered 'Geran-3' armed with a 300kg warhead – believed to be a Russian clone of the Iranian Shahed-238.
Ukrainian air defences intercepted many of the drones, but not all. Several regions, including Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk, were targeted. At least one person was killed and three were injured.
Last week, Ukraine responded by firing hundreds of drones across Russia, including dozens towards Moscow, forcing the closure of the Russian capital's four airports.
Both sides have adapted rapidly to the attacks.
Tom Withington, a weapons expert at the Royal United Services Institute, said drones guided by fibre-optic cables – now used by Moscow and Kyiv – are 'near impossible' to jam, highlighting the pace of innovation.
Ukraine has been known to attach drones to remote-controlled aircraft to strike oil depots and military targets inside Russia. The attacks are estimated to have disrupted 17 per cent of Russia's refining capacity, severely affecting military fuel supplies.
Ukraine has also learned how to reconfigure Western-supplied tanks to better hunt enemy drones. The Ukrainian army's 508th Separate Repair and Restoration Battalion is preparing to receive an old German Leopard 1A5 tank modified with a Belgian Cockerill 3105 turret. The upgrade allows the tank to fire at drones at a steep 41-degree angle – 20 degrees higher than standard – and hit targets up to 10km away.
The German Leopard tank may have poor armour but its speed would allow it to better evade Russian drones more than other armoured vehicles, the Ukrainian army's 508th Separate Repair and Restoration Battalion (SRRB) said.
'After making the shot that may disclose the Ukrainian tank's position, a Leopard 1A5 can quickly roll back to cover,' the 508th SRRB said. 'It is true that the armour of the first Leopard is really weak, but it doesn't matter if the Russian drone operators don't even have time to see it.'
But the modification comes with a hefty price tag. While Belgium has pledged $1 billion in aid – and Ukraine is waiting to receive 170 old Leopard tanks – retrofitting each with the Belgian turret could cost tens of millions of dollars.
Mr Narozhny said such a weapon would be 'very effective' at targeting Russian drones but could cost the Ukrainians thousands of dollars to down each drone.
Whether Kyiv can justify that cost remains to be seen, especially with competing needs, including batteries for US-supplied Patriot missile systems and funding to recruit more troops amid growing manpower shortages.