Russia has used a Shahed-type attack drone equipped with an air-to-air missile for the first time, marking a new escalation in its attempts to target Ukrainian aircraft, according to the Polkovnik GSH Telegram channel, which is linked to Ukraine’s Armed Forces, on December 1.
According to a statement from a General Staff colonel, the drone—Russia’s locally branded Geran-2, based on the Iranian Shahed-136—was launched with a Soviet-era R-60 heat-seeking missile mounted beneath its wing.
Su-15TM (NATO reporting name “Flagon-F”), a Soviet interceptor aircraft with an R-60 missile attached. Ukrainian Air Force Museum in Vinnitsa. (Source: Wikimedia)
“Today, for the first time, the enemy used a Geran-2 strike UAV carrying an air-to-air guided missile (R-60),” he said.
He added that the modification is intended specifically “to counter our helicopters,” and warned that “crews and command must take this into account and implement certain measures.”
Later, Ukrainian military expert Serhii Flash confirmed the use of an R-60 missile on a Shahed drone, publishing an image of debris.
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Ukrainian officials believe Russia hopes to down Ukrainian helicopters and low-flying aircraft by turning a slow, inexpensive suicide drone into a crude airborne missile carrier—a tactic not previously documented in the war.
The R-60 missile, originally designed for Soviet fighter jets, is a short-range infrared weapon, typically used to hit helicopters, transport aircraft, or slow aerial targets.
Debris of the Russian Shahed drone with an R-60 air-to-air missile attached to it, December 1, 2025. (Source: Serhii Flash)
Ukraine’s military said it is now adapting flight tactics and air-defense procedures in response to this new threat.
Earlier, reports emerged that Russian forces used a dangerous new tactic in the Sumy region, equipping Shahed suicide drones with containers carrying anti-tank mines mounted under their wings.
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