Iran modifies Shahed drones for Russia to inflict maximum damage

Iran appears to be modifying the attack drones that it is providing to Russia so that the explosive warheads can inflict maximum damage on infrastructure targets inside Ukraine.

Source: CNN, citing Conflict Armament Research, a UK-based investigative organisation

Details: Conflict Armament Research (CAR) analysed an unexploded warhead from an Iranian Shahed-131 drone found in Odesa Oblast, south of Ukraine, in October 2022.

CAR analysis revealed that the warheads, which are around 50 cm long, were hastily modified with poorly fitted layers of dozens of small metal fragments that on impact scatter across a large radius. In addition to the fragments, there are also 18 smaller "charges" around the circumference of the warhead that, when melted by the blast, can pierce armour and create a kind of "360-degree" explosive effect.

The accumulation of those elements essentially maximises the warhead’s ability to shred targets such as power stations, distribution grids, transmission lines and large, high-power transformers. They also make repair efforts substantially harder.

Quote from Damien Spleeters, an investigator who examined the warhead: "It’s as though they looked at the finished warhead and said, 'How can we make this even more destructive?"

Background: Iran started supplying hundreds of Shahed attack drones to Russia in autumn 2022. Russia is using drones to target the Ukrainian power grid and other energy facilities, leaving civilians in Ukraine without power, heat and water in the cold winter months.

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