Shahed Drone
Family of Iranian one-way attack (“kamikaze”) loitering munitions, most prominently the Shahed-136. Long range, low cost, distinctive triangular delta-wing planform, and a noisy moped-like engine. Russia has fielded Iranian-supplied and locally-produced (Geran-2) Shaheds extensively against Ukraine since 2022.
Operation Epic Fury
During the U.S.-led campaign against Iran (Feb 2026–), Iran launched thousands of Shaheds, with significant numbers evading defenses to cause damage and U.S./allied casualties — including six U.S. troops killed in Kuwait by an Iranian drone on March 1, 2026 (src-counter-drone-middle-east-jiatf-2026-04). The shortfall in U.S. counter-uas capability against Shaheds was the proximate driver of the jiatf-401 surge and the deployment of Ukrainian Sky Map to prince-sultan-air-base (src-epic-fury-update-2026-04).
tom-karako (CSIS): “It’s a hard problem. It’s a wicked hard problem. But at the same time, it’s not bleeding edge rocket surgery to shoot down Shaheds either.”