Geran-3
Russia · also known as Geran 3, Герань-3, 天竺葵-3 · Updated
Geran-3 is a jet-powered one-way attack drone fielded by Russia, the first turbojet conversion in the Shahed/Geran family and the direct predecessor of the Geran-4 and Geran-5. Documentation on this specific variant is thin: Russia has not published official data, and even Ukrainian and Western reporting on it is sparser and less consistent than the disclosures later published about Geran-4 and Geran-5.
Note on sourcing
Russia has not released official data on the Geran-3. What is known comes from Ukrainian military-intelligence assessments relayed by trade press and research organisations; this page cites only sources on this site's approved-source list and marks fields as unknown (null) where the available reporting is too inconsistent to state a single figure with confidence.
Overview
Geran-3 is described by CSIS as Russia's first attempt to replace the piston engine of the original Geran-2 (the Russian-built version of Iran's Shahed-136) with a turbojet, rather than a purpose-built new airframe. GlobalSecurity.org similarly characterises it as a "turbojet-powered replacement for piston engine" on the existing design. CSIS reports a domestic Russian production line for the type from around January 2025, distinct from an earlier Iranian jet-powered Shahed variant (Shahed-238) that Ukrainian officials had linked to Russia's jet-Geran programme from January 2024.
Ukrainian assessments cited in later disclosures about the Geran-4 indicate that the Geran-3's airframe — adapted from the slower, delta-wing Geran-2 rather than redesigned for speed — proved structurally weak under the loads of high-speed jet flight, which is given as the reason Russia moved to the newly designed airframe used on Geran-4. This site treats that account as a plausible, sourced explanation for the family's rapid iteration rather than a confirmed engineering finding, since it is not corroborated by an independent technical assessment.
Design and capabilities
The confirmed detail available from sources on this site's approved list is limited to the engine: a Chinese-made Telefly JT80 turbojet, replacing the Geran-2's piston engine and pusher propeller. CSIS reports a maximum speed of up to about 300 mph (roughly 483 km/h). Separately, GlobalSecurity.org's own page on the family gives a higher, less specific figure of around 600 km/h cruise speed and a 2,500 km strike range for Geran-3 — a large enough gap from the CSIS figure that this page does not treat either as settled, and records both rather than picking one.
Because Geran-3 is understood to reuse the Geran-2's basic delta-wing shape with a turbojet swap, its dimensions are likely close to the Geran-2's reported 3.5 m length and 2.5 m wingspan, but no source in this page's approved list states a separate, Geran-3-specific figure, so those fields are left unknown here rather than assumed.
Operational history
Geran-3 has been used by Russia against Ukraine, though public reporting on its combat use is far less detailed than for the later Geran-4 and Geran-5, which superseded it in Russian production; whether Geran-3 remains in active production or use alongside its successors is not established by the sources available to this site, so status is marked unknown rather than assumed retired.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Geran-3?
A jet-powered Russian one-way attack drone, the first turbojet conversion of the Shahed/Geran family, produced domestically in Russia from around January 2025 according to CSIS.
How fast is the Geran-3?
CSIS reports a maximum speed of up to about 483 km/h (300 mph). A separate GlobalSecurity.org estimate gives a higher cruise speed of around 600 km/h; this page notes both rather than choosing one, since neither is independently confirmed.
What engine does the Geran-3 use?
A Chinese-made Telefly JT80 turbojet, replacing the piston engine used on the earlier Geran-2.
How is the Geran-3 different from the Geran-4?
Geran-3 adapted the existing Geran-2 delta-wing airframe to jet power; Ukrainian assessments say that airframe proved structurally weak at higher speed, leading Russia to design the newly reinforced airframe used on the Geran-4.
Is the Geran-3 still in production?
Not established from sources available to this site. Later Russian production reporting focuses on the faster Geran-4 and Geran-5, which are described as having overtaken the original Geran-2 in monthly output, but no source confirms whether Geran-3 production continues, has paused, or has ended.
