Shahed 191

Background

The Shahed 191 was revealed in October 2016, following Iran's capture of a Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel in 2011. It is a smaller derivative of that aircraft, with the Shahed 191 being approximately 60% of the size of the RQ-170. The drone exists in multiple variants: the Saeqeh-1, first presented at an Iranian arms expo in 2016, which carries two Sadid-1 missiles externally and lacks a frontal air intake; and the Saeqeh-2, which carries two Sadid-1 missiles internally and features retractable landing skids. A propeller-powered variant was shown in wargames in 2019, carrying its weapons externally and landing on fixed skids.

In February 2018, Israel shot down a Shahed 191 during the Israel–Syria incident. Israeli officials described the drone as quite advanced and imitating Western technology. On 1 October 2018, the IRGC Aerospace Force used ballistic missiles and drones, reportedly including Saeqeh UAVs, to attack targets in the Abu Kamal region in eastern Syria; Iran released video they said showed a Saeqeh releasing a single Sadid-1 bomb from internal bays. In July 2022, the United States claimed that Russian officials had traveled to Iran to examine drones, including several labeled on satellite images as Shahed-191, with at least one pictured in flight near Kashan airfield.