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Iran-Israel war: How powerful are Shahed-136 drones that Iran has fired towards Israel? they are capable of..., target is...
Shahed 136 (File)
Iran-Israel war: Iran has launched more than 100 Shahed-136 drones towards Israel in retaliation to the latter's airstrikes on Iranian cities, including capital Tehran on Sunday. According to media reports, the Jordanian Air Force is trying to intercept the Iranian drones and missiles in its airspace before they reach Israel.
Iran is known for its drone capabilities, and the Shahed drones are among the deadliest in its drone arsenal. Let us find out how powerful these Iranian military drones are. How powerful is Iran's Shahed-136 drone?
The HESA Shahed 136 is a loitering munition system (LMS) designed and developed by Iran to serve as a low-cost kamikaze or suicide drone, used to take out strategic enemy targets such as bunkers and air defense systems.
The Shahed 136 has been extensively used by Russian forces during the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, and is also known by its Russian designation Geran-2.
Introduced in 2020, the Shahed 136 is a single-use kamikaze drone that explodes after diving into its target, causing extensive damage. It has a range of up to 2500 kilometers, which means it can easily reach deep inside Israel, which is located around 1800 kms away from Iran.
The Shahed 136 can reach speeds of up to 200 kmph, but lacks stealth and can be easily detected by radars due to its relatively slow speed. However, these drones are often launched in swarms to overwhelm enemy air defenses, making them difficult to intercept.
The Iranian LMS drone has a payload capacity of 40-50 kg, packing enough firepower to damage small military bases, buildings, or target soldiers, but not enough to affect larger, hardened structures like nuclear plants.
The Shahed 136 is a propeller-driven drone, which flies at a low altitude of 3000-4000 meters to avoid detection by radars, and can cause damage within a 50-100 meters. When will Shahed 136 reach Israel?
The aerial distance between Iran and Israel is about 1600-1800 kilometers, which means the Shahed 136 will take around 8-10 hours to reach its targets inside Jewish nation, depending upon factors like wind speed, and direction.
The Iranian drone swarm has currently been spotted flying over Iraq and Jordan, indicating they have already traveled for 2-3 hours, and may reach Israel within the next 3-5 hours if not intercepted.
The Associated Press (AP), quoting the (Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), said the Jordanian Air Force has intercepted and destroyed dozens of Shahed 136 drones and Iranian missiles over its airspace, while the Israeli Air Force (IAF) is trying to intercept them outside Israel's borders using F-35 fighter jets and Patriot missile defense systems. Iran-Israel war
On early Sunday morning, Israel launched its fiercest attack on Iran, unleashing a wave of air strikes on Iranian cities, including capital Tehran, in which several top Iranian nuclear scientists and military commanders, including IRGC chief Hossein Salami, commander Ghulam-Ali Rashid, nuclear scientist Dr. Mohammad Tehranchi, nuclear scientist Dr. Fereydoon Abbasi and Iran's Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri.
Following the attack, Tehran has vowed vengeance, stating that its response will be anything beyond what Israel and ally, the United States, could ever imagine, triggering the fears of a full-scale Iran-Israel war.
