Video: How Putin’s Most Secretive Weapon Got Leaked

The FLM-136 is a U.S.-built drone developed by reverse-engineering Russia’s Geran-2, which itself is based on Iran’s Shahed-136. American defence companies examined drones that were captured or brought down and recreated them with U.S. parts while keeping the core design and modifying it for American manufacturing and mission requirements. Since Russia relied heavily on the Geran-2 in the Ukraine war, replicating it became strategically valuable. The FLM-136 is a low-cost loitering munition that can carry varied payloads and operate independently or in coordinated swarms. Its development demonstrates how the U.S. military transformed an adversary’s weapon into a system for its own testing and operational advantage, gaining both technological knowledge and strategic leverage over Russia’s drone warfare tactics.