Russians Equipped Shahed with Infrared Searchlight to Blind Ukrainian Pilots

For the first time, a Russian Shahed attack drone has been spotted in Ukraine with an infrared searchlight that is supposed to blind Ukrainian pilots’ night vision devices.

A photo of the new modification of the Russian drone was published by radio technology specialist Serhiy Flash.

“This is the first time I’ve seen this in Shahed. This is an IR (infrared) searchlight to blind anti-aircraft drones and aircraft. The enemy continues to work on countermeasures,” he wrote.

It is worth noting that, judging by the published photo, the Russians have equipped the Shahed with powerful LEDs operating in the infrared spectrum. They can, in theory, temporarily blind the night vision devices used by Ukrainian pilots, or even completely disable devices of previous generations.

However, modern military night vision devices of the third generation (and in some cases, generation 2+) are equipped with built-in protection against such blindness. Therefore, the effectiveness of such countermeasures can only be determined by actual operation.

In addition, thermal imagers, in particular the thermal imaging cameras of interceptor drones, are not sensitive to such blindness, as they operate in other spectral ranges and simply do not “see” it.

Such measures are aimed primarily at pilots of Ukrainian helicopters used to intercept Russian strike and reconnaissance drones.

“Depending on the weather, our helicopters sometimes shoot down up to 40% of drones in their areas. That is why we are also scaling up this area,” said Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, at a press conference in September 2025.

In order to increase the effectiveness of their strikes against Ukraine, the Russians are constantly experimenting with improving their attack drones.

For example, in December 2025 alone, four new modifications were discovered: a tandem warhead weighing about 100 kilograms, a new optical unit, a new communication antenna, and the installation of a R-60 air-to-air missile.

The R-60 is a short-range missile with an infrared homing head that does not require radar to engage a target. Its typical use is to engage helicopters and tactical aircraft at short ranges.

The Russians are likely to integrate it into the Shahed to combat Ukrainian fighters and helicopters hunting UAVs.