On July 28, Presidential Adviser on Defense Technology Development Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov published photos and a review of the design of the Geran Seeker drone modification — a variant of the Shahed-type strike UAV designed to search for and strike high-value targets.
According to him, the aircraft is equipped with two cameras connected via a switch to a single MESH modem. One camera is directed rearward and allows the enemy operator to see approaching interceptor drones. The second — equipped with zoom — is used to search for a target, acquire it, and track it during an attack.
This is the first known public detailed explanation of how exactly the functions are distributed between the cameras on the Seeker; previously, Flash had only reported that the drone was equipped with “several cameras operating in different modes.”
Russia began mass-equipping Shahed/”Geran” drones with MESH modems and cameras in the second half of 2025, and by 2026 such solutions had become commonplace. This allowed operators to receive real-time video, remotely adjust the flight path, and employ elements of machine guidance. The most frequently observed variant is currently the jet-powered Geran-4 Seeker modification, although the Seeker system itself can be installed on other Geran variants as well.
According to Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence (HUR), the Russian command has ordered its units — including the Rubikon Center for Advanced Unmanned Systems — to intensify strikes against civilian infrastructure and transportation in frontline and border regions of Ukraine. To this end, the enemy is employing UAVs capable of operating in real-time mode, among them the Geran Seeker, Molniya-1, Molniya-2, Lancet, and V2U. One example of such attacks was the July 26 strike on a supermarket in the border city of Chernihiv by a jet-powered Geran-4 drone equipped with a video camera, which killed two people.