Role & capabilities
- Multirole aircraft
- Primary domain
- Air
- System type
- Multirole aircraft
- Developer / manufacturer
- Iranian defence industry / IRGC programme
- Origin / production countries
- Iran
- Other names
- Shahed-149; Gaza UAV
- Variants / configurations
- See the named configuration and evidence notes
- Operators / programme customers
- IRGC — exercise use claimed in official reporting
Evidence & current status
Claims derive from an archived official-media account, not independent tests. Range terminology is contradictory; the public programme should not be read as verified fleet-wide capability.
Gaza is a large Iranian uncrewed aircraft commonly reported as Shahed-149. Iranian official reporting in January 2025 described its appearance during an IRGC exercise and published a series of performance claims. The report establishes a public programme announcement and a claimed demonstration, but does not constitute independent verification of the aircraft’s flight envelope or operational fleet.
The archived IRNA report gives a twenty-two-metre wingspan, a 3,100-kilogram take-off weight and a claimed thirty-five-hour endurance. Its range wording is internally difficult to reconcile: it mentions both a one-thousand-kilometre range and a roughly four-thousand-kilometre operating radius. This catalogue does not select the larger number or combine it with endurance to manufacture a new performance estimate.
The aircraft should be separated from smaller Shahed one-way systems and from the existing Shahed-129 programme. Shared naming does not establish common configuration, propulsion or payload. The current profile therefore uses a reported/unverified status and clearly attributes numerical claims to the official account. It leaves precise manufacturing responsibility, independently established service acceptance and present fleet size unresolved pending better evidence.
Sourced specifications
Figures apply to the named configuration. Maximum values are not guaranteed operating performance.
| Specification | Reported value | Context & source |
|---|---|---|
| Airframe | Large fixed-wing multirole aircraft, as officially presented | Attributed public-source description; not independent performance certification. Source ↗ |
| Launch / recovery | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Propulsion | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Dimensions | 22 m wingspan, official claim | Attributed public-source description; not independent performance certification. Source ↗ |
| Mass | 3,100 kg take-off weight, official claim | Attributed public-source description; not independent performance certification. Source ↗ |
| Endurance | 35 hours, official claim | Attributed public-source description; not independent performance certification. Source ↗ |
| Range | Unresolved: the same official account mentions 1,000 km range and approximately 4,000 km radius | Conflicting terminology; neither figure is treated as verified operational reach. Source ↗ |
| Speed | 350 km/h cruise, official claim | Attributed public-source description; not independent performance certification. Source ↗ |
| Altitude | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Payload | At least 500 kg, official claim | Attributed public-source description; not independent performance certification. Source ↗ |
| Sensors | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Communications / navigation | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
Documented milestones
Exercise demonstration claimed
IRNA relayed an IRGC announcement with performance figures requiring corroboration.
Read the announcement ↗
Publication history
- — Added a sourced global catalogue profile with configuration-specific data and explicit evidence limits.
Suggest a correction to this entry →
Follow the evidence
Source types identify who makes the claim. Programme milestones and supplier statements should be read in context.
- IRNA, 26 January 2025: Gaza exercise announcement, archived by GlobalSecurity (opens in a new tab)Official media statement archive