More dangerous than expected
Hundreds of drones from Iran – Putin wants to use them to gain air supremacy over Ukraine
Mass instead of quality – Iran has a large stock of drones of all kinds.
© SalamPix/ABACA/ / Picture Alliance
The first drones from Iran have arrived in Russia. Allegedly there are problems, but Kyiv has to fear these weapons – even if the drones from Iran are not as good as the latest US models.
It has been reported for weeks that Russia will receive combat drones from Iran for the war in Ukraine. Russian military officials are said to have visited a military base near Tehran in the summer to inspect Iran’s drones. Then nothing happened. There has even been speculation that these drones are intended to create so much trouble for the Russians that they are unsuitable for use in the war zone.
Such reports can be described as the proverbial whistling in the forest. In fact, it was only reported at the end of August that the first drones had landed in Russia. A deployment just a week later would be completely unrealistic. US officials reported that there were problems with the delivery. In principle, these drones are already being used by Iran, and it is unlikely that they will not be able to be used in the long term.
Integration into the air defense
The integration of completely new types of drones into the Russian armed forces will take time, even if preliminary work has already been done. Putin has not ordered small mini-drones from Iran, as can often be seen in Ukraine, but full-fledged combat drones. The drones from Iran are “real” missiles. They have to be operated and maintained, and above all they have to be integrated into one’s own air defense system. Russia has deployed a dense air defense system over its troops to thwart the deployment of Turkish-made Ukrainian combat drones. All Russian air defense systems must first be “calibrated” to the new additions from Iran, so that the mullahs’ drones are not knocked out of the sky by their own missiles. Only when this process and staff training is complete will these drones appear on the battlefield.
Even as the first rumors surfaced, the combat value of the Iranian drones was being downplayed. And in fact, they will not reach the level of the latest combat drones from the USA or Israel. But the Bayraktar TB2 drones used by Kyiv from Turkey do not achieve that either. And even without being technically high-end, these drones can play an important role in the war.
The crowd does
Stalin said: “Quantity has its own quality.” And that applies to drone imports from Iran. Because Putin does not want to import three or four drones, not even a dozen or two. Iran is said to be ready to deliver hundreds of drones. With that amount, Moscow could finally gain air supremacy over Ukraine. Such an influx of drones would make it possible to consistently attack and eliminate all anti-aircraft defenses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Moscow would simply be able to absorb the expected losses. These swarms of drones would then also be the means by which Russia will try to control the rocket launchers and precision artillery that the US has supplied to Kyiv.
The first delivery should already contain drones from the Shahed series (types 129 and 191) and models of the Mohajer-6 type. The Mohajer-6 drone is primarily used for surveillance and target reconnaissance, and it can carry two smaller precision missiles. Their payload is only about 20 kilograms. Mohajer-6 is said to be able to stay in the air for up to 12 hours, it can take infrared images and has a laser range finder.
Drones correspond to the BT-2
The Shahed-129 and Shahed-191 drones are said to have been tested by Russian experts at the Kashan air base near Tehran. The Shahed-129 is clearly “inspired” by the Israeli Hermes 450 drone and the US MQ-1 Predator. Their flight duration is 24 hours, the military payload is over 400 kilograms. The range should be relatively large, but that shouldn’t be an issue in Ukraine. If the drone is controlled from a ground station and not from the air, it can only be used up to 200 kilometers away from the station or a signal booster. The further development Shahed-191 should already have stealth properties. Supposedly it is a replica of the RQ-170 Sentinel drone from the USA. In addition to these large combat drones, Iran is building a variety of kamikaze drones. She could use Moscow for precision strikes – as a cheap substitute for her own cruise missiles.
See in the video: According to Bundeswehr Brigadier General Christian Freuding, the advances of the Ukrainian troops have had a significant impact on the entire war. Ukraine has local superiorities and is tactically clever.
Despite blatant threats from the US, Iran has supplied these drones. And there is nothing to suggest that Tehran will stop the program. For Putin, this means that the arms industry of a large country is willing to work for its war machine. Iran itself has been subject to strict sanctions by the US and its allies for years. That means the Iranian defense industry is sanction-proof.