The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported today, December 23, about the successful destruction of a warehouse containing components for the production of Shahed-136 drones in Russia. The warehouse with parts was located in the exclusive economic zone of "Alabuga" in Tatarstan, where the assembly of "shahids" takes place.
The cause of the fire, aside from the successful actions of the GUR of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, has not been disclosed. However, it was noted that the warehouse stored "65 fuselages of strike drones, as well as engines, navigation systems, and thermal imaging cameras for the production of 400 units of Shahed-136."
An extremely important detail of this report is the storage of thermal imaging cameras, which were intended for use in the production of Shahed-136. The fact is that typically, "shahids" are equipped with cameras, although certain experiments in this direction were observed as early as March this year.
Moreover, since January 2024, due to a massive leak of secret documentation, information has emerged about a project variation of the "shahid" with the index MS 236, which was planned to be equipped with an electro-optical homing head. This prototype was revealed on September 19 during the visit of Russian dictator Putin to the "Special Technological Center" in St. Petersburg.
It should be noted that the installation of such a guidance system on the "shahid" allows for an expansion of its capabilities, as it provides the option of directing the drone to a target beyond pre-known coordinates.
There is also the possibility of guiding the drone to a target. However, this requires maintaining a sufficiently broad and interference-resistant connection with the operator.
In the case of using the "shahid" for strikes on frontline targets, this is still feasible through radio communication. However, for strikes on infrastructure objects, the Russians must use either 4G modems or Starlink, and one drone with satellite communication was shot down in September.
Additionally, the capability of obtaining video imagery from the "shahid" potentially addresses issues of counteracting interference with satellite navigation and coordinate substitution. In particular, the operator will be able to see the terrain under the drone and compare it with the coordinates, making it possible to notice any discrepancies.
In theory, there are two more options for using such cameras: for automatic navigation, detection, and identification of targets based on "machine vision," which also enhances accuracy and no longer requires a connection with the operator. Furthermore, they could be used for systems designed to counter Ukrainian anti-aircraft FPV drones, as at least several systems utilizing cameras on UAVs in Russia have already been tested. However, the exact purposes for which thermal imaging cameras were intended for the "Shahids" in Russia will likely become clear later.