Shahed 131

The Shahed 131 (, literally "Witness 131"), or Geran-1 (Герань-1, literally "Geranium-1") in Russian service, is an Iranian-made exploding drone which came to prominence in October 2022 during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It is powered by a Wankel engine model Shahed-783/788.

Design
The Shahed-131 is powered by the Serat-1 Wankel engine, which is a copy of the Beijing Micropilot UAV Control System Ltd MDR-208 Wankel engine. An engine of this type was used for the drone in the 2019 Aramco attack in Abqaiq, which was referred to the UN Secretariat as part of the Resolution 2231 2020 investigations.

The Shahed-131 flight control unit was found to be able to connect with Iridium satellites, which in theory allows the flight path to be altered mid flight. The flight controller has a backup inertial navigation system by MEMS gyroscope. Its primary instructions are derived from a commercial-grade GPS unit.

Designs for the Kentron ARD-10 loitering drone were sold to Iran Aviation Industries Organization in 2004/5 and used by Shahed Aviation Industries to develop the Shahed 131 and Shahed 136 drones, according to Air Forces Monthly magazine. However a Royal United Services Institute article states the origins of the Shahed 131 are obscure.

The Shahed 131 is visually distinguished by having vertical stabilisers that extend only upwards from the ends of the wings, while on the larger Shahed 136 they extend both up and down. It has a 15 kg warhead and has a range of 900 km.

Operational history
It has been alleged the drone was first seen in the Arabian Peninsula when it was used to attack Saudi targets by the Houthi rebels. However The Washington Post reported that other types of drone were used in that attack.

It was used in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, under a Russian name Geran-1. A simplified version is also called Geran-3 where the diesel engine has been replaced with a DLE-60 twin gasoline engine.

Operators

 * 🇮🇷 Iran: By IRGCASF/NEHSA and IRGCN/NEDSA
 * 🇷🇺 Russia: Used as the Geran-1.

Non-state actors

 * Houthis


 * Saraya Ababil: Used as Murad-6