Russia's Geran-5 Low-Cost cruise missile drone

Flag Russia Ukraine reports that Russia has used the new Geran-5 (Geran = geranium) missile-drone against targets in the country. Photos of a crashed example have been widely shared which provide us with our first look at the airframe.

The Geran-5 can be seen as part of a wider trend to make low-cost jet powered drones which bridge the gap between drones and missiles. Ukraine has several designs and Russia has already fielded a simple jet turbine variant of the ubiquitous Geran-2 (Shahed) piston drone. The Geran-5 is likely a step up from that, being both faster and longer ranged.

Russia's Geran-5 Low-Cost cruise missile drone

General arrangement image released by HUR, Jan 11 2026

The missile has a reported length of 6 meters, payload of 90 kg (suggesting a standard larger-size Shahed/Geran-2 warhead) and a range of 1,000 km. This makes it significantly larger than many similar drone-missiles, yet smaller and shorter ranged than Ukraine’s FP-5 Flamingo missile.

The fuselage is cylindrical with numerous features suggesting missile-style metal construction more than typical drone airframe. This likely means that it is more expensive than the Shahed/Geran-2, but can withstand higher stresses and may be lighter. This would convey greater range and speed. Having said that the wings are a unswept with a constant chord (not tapered), which suggests still only modest speeds overall. The tail uses a bomber-style arrangement with endplate rudders which allows the jet turbine to be attached above the fuselage and the launch booster below.

Russia's Geran-5 Low-Cost cruise missile drone crash site Russia's Geran-5 Low-Cost cruise missile drone crash site Russia's Geran-5 Low-Cost cruise missile drone crash site

Crashed Geran-5 in Ukraine

Not An Iranian Karrar clone

Parallels have been drawn to Iran’s Karrar combat drone which has a similar overall configuration. The Karrar has an even more aircraft-like airframe which logically makes it even more expensive. And notably, the Karrar carries its payload under the fuselage, making it reusable. If the Geran-5 is a one-way drone then similarities to the Karrer are just coincidental; several Ukrainian low-cost drone-missiles also share a similar overall form yet are unrelated.

Iranian Karrar cruise missile drone

The Iranian Karrar combat drone carries its payload under the fuselage. Both air-ground and air-air weapons have been demonstrated.

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