Shahed-101

The Shahed-101 is an Iranian one-way attack drone, or loitering munition, produced by Shahed Aviation Industries (HESA). It is a compact delta-shaped fixed-wing airframe intended for saturation strikes against lightly protected infrastructure, logistic routes and rear-area radar sites, entering series production in 2024 and first used operationally that summer by Hezbollah against Israeli targets.

Development

Series production of the Shahed-101 began in Iran in 2024 under Shahed Aviation Industries (HESA), part of a family of expendable strike drones developed for volume employment. A variant revealed in March 2026 replaced the piston engine with an electric powerplant, a departure from the rest of the Shahed family adopted to reduce acoustic and infrared signature. Russian-assembled examples have been documented since 2025.

Design

The airframe measures about 2.5 m in length with a wingspan close to 3 m, and launch weight is estimated between 35 and 45 kg depending on payload configuration. The baseline aircraft uses a small gasoline piston engine driving a pusher propeller; the electric variant is fed by an internal battery pack and drives a nose-mounted tractor propeller. Launch is from a rail using a small solid rocket booster attached under the fuselage. Maximum speed is between 150 and 200 km/h with cruise nearer 120 km/h, and the operating ceiling is about 3,000 m, though the aircraft is usually flown low to complicate radar detection. Reported range spans 600 to 1,500 km depending on propulsion fit, with most assessments placing the operational figure between 800 and 1,000 km. Guidance is by satellite navigation coupled to a simple autopilot; later examples carry a four-element CRPA anti-jamming antenna and an optional optical camera for terminal guidance.

Armament

The warhead contains between 5 and 8 kg of explosive in a cylindrical casing combining shaped-charge penetration with fragmentation effects. Some variants are reported to approach 9 kg of explosive filler.

Operational History

First operational use was recorded during the summer of 2024, when Hezbollah employed the type against Israeli targets. Use in Iraq and Syria followed, and from 2025 the drone appeared in Ukraine in the form of Russian-assembled examples. Iran deployed the type in 2026 in saturation raids across the Gulf. Operators comprise Iran, Russia and non-state groups aligned with Iran.

Variants

• Shahed-101 (baseline): Production version with a gasoline piston engine and pusher propeller, in Iranian series manufacture from 2024.
• Shahed-101 electric: Variant revealed in March 2026 using an electric motor, internal battery pack and nose-mounted tractor propeller to reduce acoustic and infrared signature.
• Russian-assembled variant: Examples produced in Russia and documented in use against Ukraine from 2025.