Russia’s Fast Geran-5 Drone “Exploded Like a Comet” After Ukrainian Intercept, Video

Ukrainian border guards shot down a Russian Geran-5 jet-powered strike drone on September 23, one of Moscow's newest and fastest attack UAVs.

Operators from the 105th Separate Border Detachment, named after Prince Volodymyr the Great, carried out the interception, ArmyInform added.

The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine released footage of the strike on its official Telegram channel the same day.

The drone "exploded like a comet," as described by ArmyInform. By what means the operators reached the Geran-5, the Border Guard Service did not specify, nor did it disclose the strike's location.

In the same Telegram post, the service listed a broader set of targets hit by the unit's operators on September 23:

• a jet-powered Geran-5 strike drone;

• 82mm automatic Vasylok mortars;

• fuel, lubricant, and ammunition depots;

• electronic warfare equipment and radar stations;

• military vehicles;

• fortified enemy shelters.

Jet-powered Gerans fly considerably faster than the propeller-driven Shaheds that Russia has used against Ukraine for years, a gap that demands different interception means, ArmyInform explained.

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War in Ukraine

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Russia first deployed the Geran-5 against Ukraine in early 2026, according to the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (HUR).

The jet-powered UAV closely resembles Iran's Karrar drone and reflects Moscow's shift toward faster, harder-to-intercept strike platforms.

According to HUR, the Geran-5 measures roughly 6 meters long, has a wingspan of up to 5.5 meters, and carries a warhead of about 90 kilograms.

Later assessments put its takeoff weight near 850 kilograms. The drone cruises at 450 to 600 kilometers per hour, with a range of up to 950 kilometers and a ceiling of up to 6 kilometers.

The drone runs on a Chinese TELEFLY TF-TJ2000A turbojet engine, and its airframe includes components sourced from China, the US, and Germany, HUR found.

The Geran-5 is estimated to cost around $100,000 per unit, similar to the newer Banderol cruise missile. That is far cheaper than a US-made Tomahawk, which runs more than $2 million.

The interception adds to a string of recent Geran-5 losses. Russian production of the jet-powered drone and its Banderol counterpart has expanded rapidly in recent months, moving from battlefield testing to large-scale manufacturing.

Ukrainian air defenses downed another Geran-5 over Kyiv's Holosiivskyi district in early September, when wreckage from the drone fell in the neighborhood.

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