From Shahed to Geran: How Russia Continues to Reinvent the One-Way Attack Drone

This event will be pre-recorded and will be available for public viewing on September 29, 2026 at 8:00 AM ET.

Since acquiring the original Shahed design from Iran in 2022, Russia has treated its Geran drone as a continuously evolving platform, rapidly upgrading its navigation, communications, payload, propulsion, and tactics in response to changing Ukrainian defenses. The evolution of the Geran over four years of conflict reflects a broader shift in modern weapons development, where advantage increasingly depends not on building the most advanced system at the outset but on maintaining the organizational and industrial capacity to continuously iterate a system after it has entered combat. 

On September 29, CSIS's Wadhwani AI Center will host an event unpacking how Russia has modified the Geran and what U.S. policymakers can learn from its development model. Wadhwani AI Center senior fellow Kateryna Bondar and research assistant Nicole Errera will present the findings of their recent report "From Shahed to Geran: How Russia Continues to Reinvent the One-Way Attack Drone." Following the presentation, Kateryna will be joined by Samuel Bendett, advisor to CNA's Strategy, Policy, Plans and Programs Division and senior associate (non-resident) with CSIS's Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program, for a broader conversation about Russia's defense ecosystem and the enabling role played by China, Iran, and North Korea. 

This event is made possible by general funding to CSIS and the CSIS Wadhwani AI Center.