The record What this system is, where it comes from, who operates it and which of Vigil’s modules it is relevant to — with the evidence each of those rests on.
Record
Conflict relevance
This is the catalogue's single record for this system. It is relevant to the modules below; each module's Force Atlas shows how it is used there.
Operators
Iran and the Gulf: The originating operator: fired by the Revolutionary Guard's Aerospace Force at Israel in 2024 and at the Gulf states and Israel in 2025 and 2026 — the drone half of every Iranian salvo. · Ansar Allah (Houthi movement): Derivatives are reported in Houthi use against shipping and Saudi Arabia; the extent of supply as against local assembly is disputed. · Russia: licence-built as Geran-2
Battlefield role
Mass, attritional strikes on infrastructure and cities to saturate air defence.
Strengths
Cheap, long range, launched in swarms to overwhelm interceptors; domestic Russian production has scaled continuously.
Limitations
Slow, loud, low precision, and individually easy to shoot down — effect comes from numbers, not survivability.
Visual identification
Delta-wing planform, rear pusher propeller, ~3.5 m wingspan; a distinctive moped-like engine sound.
Documented conflict use
The defining weapon of the strategic campaign against Ukraine's grid and cities since October 2022; nightly salvo sizes and intercept rates are publicly tracked by both sides.
Documented formations
- IRGC Aerospace Force UAV command Documented · high confidence
Related key events
Strategic campaign against Ukraine's grid begins
Massed missile and Shahed-drone salvos against power infrastructure open a recurring seasonal campaign to break civilian endurance through winter darkness and cold.
Twenty-four ballistic missiles, and none reported intercepted
Russia struck Kyiv oblast and other regions overnight into 5 August 2026 with 115 drones of Shahed, Gerbera, Italmas and other types, 24 ballistic missiles, and four missiles Ukraine's Air Force described as the combined category "Zircon/Oniks". The Air Force reported 98 drones destroyed or jammed — roughly 85 per cent — and did not report intercepting any of the missiles. Hits by missiles and 17 drones were recorded at 26 locations. Missiles were launched from Kursk, Rostov and Bryansk oblasts and drones from Kursk, Millerovo, Oryol, occupied Donetsk and Crimea. The State Emergency Service initially reported 14 killed and 22 injured; later reporting put the toll higher as rescue work continued.
Assessed as of — 2026-06 Last reviewed — 2026-07-11