Welsh Government uses wrong drone picture in embarrassing ‘growth deal’ gaffe

Martin Shipton

The Welsh Government’s proud boast that it had been awarded a £50m Defence Growth Deal by Westminster turned sour when it mistakenly posted a picture of an Iranian drone bought by Russia for use in its brutal attacks on Ukraine.

Defence Secretary John Healey, First Minister Eluned Morgan and Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens signed the Deal in Cardiff Castle, claiming it will “maximise Wales as a UK launchpad for autonomous technology and uncrewed systems, such as for use in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and one-way drones”.

However, the drone used to illustrate the announcement on the Welsh Government’s Business Wales website is unlikely ever to be deployed by Britain’s armed forces.

The inappropriateness of the illustration was spotted by technology author Gavin Harper from Machynlleth, who posted a message to X saying: “I’m not sure the Welsh Government using HESA 136 Shahed / eran-2 Drones as their imagery for their plan for economic growth is necessarily their finest Comms hour. Rather sinister and tone deaf for the people of Wales and the many Ukrainians that have sought sanctuary in Wales.”

I’m not sure the Welsh Government using HESA 136 Shahed / Geran-2 Drones as their imagery for their plan for economic growth is necessarily their finest Comms hour. Rather sinister and tone deaf for the people of Wales and the many Ukrainians that have sought sanctuary in Wales. pic.twitter.com/MuK4HhBSgz

— Gavin D. J. Harper (@gavindjharper) February 25, 2026

The HESA Shahed 136, also known by its Russian designation Geran-2 is an Iranian-designed one-way attack drone also referred to as a kamikaze drone or suicide drone, in the form of an autonomous pusher-propelled drone.

It is designed and manufactured by the Iranian state-owned corporation HESA in association with Shahed Aviation Industries.

The munition is designed to attack ground targets from a distance. The drone is typically fired in multiples from a launch rack.

The first public footage of the drone was released in December 2021. Russia has made much use of the Shahed 136/Geran-2 in the Russo-Ukrainian war, especially in strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure, and mass-produces its own version.

The Russian-manufactured Geran-2 is believed to have a “state-of-art antenna interference suppression” system that suppresses jamming of the satellite navigation position signal, designed by Iran using seven transceivers for input and an FPGA and three microcontrollers to analyse and suppress any electronic warfare emissions.

As of late September 2023, Russian forces have reportedly started packing warheads with tungsten ball shrapnel, similar to the M30A1 and M30A2 series of GMLRS warheads. According to Ukrainian officials the Russian modifications included “new warheads (tungsten shrapnel), engines, batteries, servomotors and bodies”.

Power grid

Geran-2 drones participated in the October 2022 missile strikes that disabled large sections of the Ukrainian power grid. Ukraine’s military said it shot down the first Shahed 136 on September 13, and that 46 of the drones were launched on October 6, 24 on October 10, and 47 on October 17, 2022.

In the morning of 17 October, Kyiv was attacked again. The drones were engaged by small-caliber ground fire and dedicated air-defense systems, but the drones reportedly hit several locations, including the offices of Ukrenergo. Other energy infrastructure facilities were attacked, leading to blackouts around the affected infrastructure. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said the strikes hit critical energy infrastructure in three regions, knocking out electricity to hundreds of towns and villages. At least eight people were killed during the day’s attack.

In response to the initial attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has denounced it as “a collaboration with evil”. Diplomatic ties between Iran and Ukraine were subsequently reduced as a consequence of the attacks.

Multiple critics including a senior researcher of the Center for Security Studies called the weapon tactically useless, and said that its role is as a weapon of terror against civilians.

Commenting on the use of the wrong drone picture, a Welsh Government spokesperson said: “This was a genuine mistake. A stock image from an external library was used on a business support social media platform and was removed as soon as the site became aware.”