- Ukraine’s military intelligence says Russia has introduced a new jet-powered Geran-5 strike drone, using it for the first time in air attacks at the start of 2026.
- GUR reports the drone carries a 90-kg warhead, has a range of about 1,000 km, and shares design features with Iran’s Karrar drone.
Ukraine’s Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) has confirmed that Russia used a new jet-powered strike drone, identified as the Geran-5, during combined air attacks at the start of 2026.
The announcement, released today, states that Russian forces employed the platform for the first time against targets inside Ukraine.
The Geran-5 has a length of around six meters and a wingspan of up to 5.5 meters. Unlike previous designs in the “Geran” series, the new model uses a conventional aerodynamic layout. At the same time, HUR said that “most key units and components are unified with other samples of this series.”
The intelligence service noted that the drone incorporates a 12-channel Kometa satellite navigation system, a tracker based on a Raspberry microcomputer and 3G/4G modems, and a Telefly turbojet engine similar to that used on the Geran-3, “but with greater thrust.” HUR stated that the warhead mass is roughly 90 kilograms, with an advertised strike range of around 1,000 kilometers.
GUR also reported that “as in the case of previous ‘Gerans,’ this UAV can hardly be considered an indigenous development of the Russian Federation,” pointing to what it described as “substantial design and technological similarity” to the Iranian Karrar drone.
The statement added that Russia is evaluating potential air-launch options for the Geran-5, “including Su-25 aircraft, in order to increase range and reduce operating costs.” HUR further noted that Russian forces are “separately considering the possibility of equipping the platform with R-73 air-to-air missiles to counter Ukrainian aviation.”
The confirmation comes as open-source reporting has previously highlighted Russian testing of a similar jet-powered strike drone known as the Dan-M, originally built as a training target for air defense crews. As previously reported by Defence Blog, Russian forces have experimented with launching Dan-M drones from Mi-8 helicopters to extend operational reach while limiting overall cost.
Open technical data describes the Dan-M as powered by a small turbojet engine and launched from the ground using a solid-fuel booster. The platform has a flight duration of up to 40 minutes, cruising speeds between 400 and 750 km/h, and an operating ceiling of up to 9,000 meters. With a compact 4.6-meter length, 2.7-meter wingspan, and a warhead of roughly 40 kilograms, the drone is intended for precision strikes against ground targets. Its layout and performance parameters closely match what analysts now observe in the Geran-5 design.
While GUR did not formally link the two systems, the shared characteristics raise questions about whether Russian engineers adapted the Dan-M concept to create a larger strike-configured platform suitable for long-range attacks.