The overall form of Shaheed-238 heavily resembles that of Shaheed-136, with a degree of streamlining for higher speeds.
With a jet engine, Shaheed-136 could reach the target significantly quicker than the propeller-driven Shaheed-136. However, this will substantially increase the unit prices and most likely keep the production rates lower due to more sophisticated engine usage.
In addition to jet propulsion, Shaheed-238 will have two seeker options on top of standard GNSS+INS guidance. The first option is what seems to be an electro-optical seeker for more precise strikes (Shaheed-136s are known to have large amounts of deviations from the target as they rely on GNSS+INS guidance only). The second one is an RF-based seeker more likely to be employed against radars.
Jet-powered kamikaze UAVs have started gaining attraction from countries working actively in the field. This can be credited to some operational and technical factors. First of all, high speeds can both allow for quicker strikes and better chances of evasion. Secondly, most of the physical C-UAS effectors are oriented against slow-flying UAVs. Secondly, small jet engines have become easier to produce and procure, lightening the burden of development and production costs for such systems.
Iran Unveils Shaheed-238 Jet-Powered Kamikaze UAV
