Shahed-136 Loitering Munition Guide

The 'Shahed drone' (specifically the Shahed-136/131 series) has fundamentally shifted the global drone market by proving the high efficacy of low-cost loitering munitions in modern asymmetric warfare Wikipedia Washingtoninstitute.

Product Insights

Design Philosophy: A "moped of the sky" approach using a 50 HP piston engine, civilian-grade GNSS/INS, and a simple delta-wing airframe to keep costs between $20,000–$50,000 Wikipedia Rusi.
Key Specs: 3.5m length, 2.5m wingspan, weighing ~200kg with a 30–50kg warhead and a range of up to 2,500km Armyrecognition Army-Technology Osmp.
Evolving Variants: New iterations like the Geran-2 now feature 90kg warheads, thermobaric options, and tungsten shrapnel for increased lethality Wikipedia.

Market Trends & Proliferation

Economic Asymmetry: The market is driven by "asymmetric attrition"—where inexpensive drones force defenders to use interceptors costing $400k–$2M per shot Researchgate Wikipedia.
Market Growth: The global loitering munition market is projected to grow from $5.37B in 2026 to over $24B by 2034 (20.65% CAGR) Fortunebusinessinsights Marketsandmarkets.
The "Clone" Era: Global powers and regional players are now developing their own "Shahed analogs," such as the U.S. LUCAS ($35,000 unit cost) and various Ukrainian long-range UAVs Wikipedia.

I have identified several B2B products for the components and technologies underlying this trend, including carbon fiber airframes and high-precision GNSS modules, which you can find in the attached files.

Shahed Drone

Overview

Product Insights

Market Trends & Proliferation

Kamikaze Drone Uav Carbon Fiber Body

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Sources & References