Russian Shahed UAV with self-guidance system remains experimental - aviation expert

Aviation expert and senior researcher at the State Aviation Museum, Valeriy Romanenko, shared the information on Espreso TV.

“The only thing a mobile operator’s SIM card on board a Shahed UAV can do is show the location it has already flown over, just indicate the position it passed. So all these reports about controlling these UAVs via SIM cards are fake,” Romanenko explained.

The expert noted that Russia has no alternative means of controlling Shahed UAVs other than satellite communication.

“After launch, a Russian Shahed UAV can maintain a connection with the operator up to a depth of 150 km. Reports about this have only just emerged. That is, it can have a guidance system and machine vision and be controlled from Russian territory. However, these are isolated cases involving very expensive models. The Russians are trying to reduce the cost of these UAVs. Overall, the Russians cannot control these drones beyond 200 km. They are pre-programmed and rely solely on satellite communication,” he added.

• On June 18, Defense Express reported that the Russians are capable of producing 90 Shahed drones per day. Meanwhile, Ukraine, together with its Western partners, will produce long-range drones.