DEEP DIVE: Iran's Shahed-171, 191 & 161 Stealth UAV Programs (2025). In March 2021, a new chapter in aerial warfare was written when an Israeli F-35 engaged and destroyed an Iranian stealth drone—a world-first for the advanced jet. But what exactly was it up against?br br That drone was part of a sophisticated family of stealth UAVs that Iran reverse-engineered from a captured American Sentinel drone. This 2025 intelligence update explores the entire Shahed stealth lineup that the IDF is countering, from the massive Shahed-171 reconnaissance platform to the weaponized Shahed-191 and the nimble Shahed-161 suicide drone. Join us as we connect the dots between Iran's reverse-engineering prowess and the real-world threats Israel faces today.br br What is the biggest threat from this drone family? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.br br The first is called the Shahed-171 Simorgh, and it is a boat-for-bolt copy of the Sentinel. It is a long-range, jet-powered reconnaissance vehicle that carries no weapons, with a mission radius of 2,200 km. The next models are versions that are 40 smaller than the original with a wingspan of 7.3 meters. The jet-powered Shahed 191 is designed for reconnaissance and attack and carries four missiles or glide bombs and its mission radius is short, only 500 kilometers. It has a brother named the Shahed 181 that received a piston engine giving it more than twice the range. We encountered the Shahed in the field. In March 2021, Two were intercepted after being sent from Iran with a shipment of weapons for Judea and Samaria as a show-off, a display of force. Their stealth drones were detected and met our stealth jets, and thus the F-35 aircraft recorded its first ever air-to-air kill. The enemy's next stealth UAVs were made even smaller than the original, with a wingspan of just over 5 meters. The Shahed-161 model is a suicide stealth UAV.