Iranian Shahed drone crashes in Kazakhstan, observer claims

An unidentified aircraft that crashed in Kazakhstan’s West Kazakhstan region on March 18 may be an Iranian Shahed-136 drone, according to military observer Amangeldi Kurmet. He also suggested that a white drone found in the region a month earlier could be a Russian Orlan-10.

On the afternoon of March 18, 2025, an unidentified drone crashed in the Taskala district of the West Kazakhstan region. Residents of Atameken, a village about 60 kilometers from the district center, took photos and videos of the black aircraft, which quickly spread on social media. The drone was approximately three meters long.

Kurmet analyzed photos and videos shared by eyewitnesses. He noted that one of the drone’s wings features a yellow inscription reading «Geran.» He pointed out that Iran’s Shahed drones, which are supplied to Russia, are rebranded as «Geran.» The black object also bears the numbers 18358 and C2VKM.

«The recently downed aircraft is an Iranian Shahed-136 drone; no doubt about it. All the characteristic features are there. It may have been slightly modified, so we must check its specifications. But the Geran is a Shahed-136 drone,» Kurmet said in response to Kursiv.media’s inquiry.

He added that Iran first showcased the Shahed-136 drone in 2020. It is often referred to as a «kamikaze drone.» In 2022, Iran began supplying these drones to the Russian armed forces, which rebranded them as Geran-2 and has since used them in its war against Ukraine. In 2023, Moscow started producing Iranian drones domestically.

On Feb. 18, in the same region, locals in the village of Uyaly in the Bokeyorda district discovered another unidentified drone. The white aircraft, approximately 120 centimeters long, had also crashed.

At the time, local media speculated that it could be a Crecerelle reconnaissance drone manufactured by the French company SAGEM. However, Kurmet disputes this claim, arguing that the drone more closely resembles a Russian Orlan-10.

«I found out that the French company SAGEM does not produce such drones. It looks very much like the Russian Orlan-10. Perhaps it is a modified version,» he said.

According to Kurmet, these drones may have accidentally entered Kazakhstan’s airspace from the Kapustin Yar missile testing range in Russia’s Astrakhan region.