White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan announced Saturday in Saudi Arabia that Russia is seeking to buy hundreds of sophisticated military drones to use in the war in Ukraine, with the aim of intensifying the campaign it is carrying out in the country that invaded the last February 24.
According to the official, the trips of the Russian delegation to Iran took place on June 8 and July 15, and in the images published by the White House it can be seen how the Iranians they were demonstrating to a Russian delegation of the operation of two types of drones, the Shahed 191 and the Shahed 129.
Iran has a wide variety of drones, and has been using and supplying drones to third parties for decades, fueled mainly by sanctions that prevented it from importing military aircraft or drones, or building large fighter jets.
That made Iran become a combat drone specialist for various purposes, and already in 2014 several military specialists considered it a power in the field.
Iran usually exports its drones to Hezbollah or the Houthi insurgents in Yemen, who use them to launch attacks in Israel and Saudi Arabia. But it also supplies them for more commercial purposes to clients in Venezuela and Ecuador, and to friendly states in Africa.
Russia desperately needs include in its drone fleet an equivalent to the successful Bayraktar TB2 used by Ukraine.
The Shahed-129, which has performed successfully in Syria and Iraq, could be one of the drones that Russia is most interested in due to its potential to carry out long-range missions to find and destroy the HIMARS mobile rocket launchers, which the United States has delivered to Ukraine and which is currently they are devastating Russian ammunition depots and command centers.
Additionally, the Shahed-129s could knock out the Ukrainian air defenses that are proving so problematic for the invading Russian forces.
The Russian air force has so far been unable to hit those targets, possibly due to a shortage of smart weaponry. This has led her to commit fiascoes like the one this week, when two Russian Su-27s tried to bomb two targets on Snake Island and didn’t even hit the island.
Drones carrying out missions in the skies over Ukraine will be exposed to anti-aircraft defenses and will likely suffer heavy losses. But drones are relatively cheap and replaceable, something manned aircraft are not, and the valuable targets to hit would be well worth the risk.
Image provided by the White House this Saturday of photos obtained via satellite in which, according to the US, it is seen how the Iranians were demonstrating to a Russian delegation the operation of two types of drones, the Shahed 191 and the Shahed 12 Photo EFE.
It is unclear how much US intelligence knows about the deal, whether Iran will be able to deliver on what it has promised, or whether Russian forces will be able to effectively use what they receive.
His record so far in this war has been poor. Resorting to Iranian drones suggests a certain desperation on the part of Russia but also underscores the importance of unmanned systems in modern warfare.
What is known about Iranian drones
The use of drones in modern warfare has become a preponderant factor by incorporating elements of electronic warfare, today a decisive factor in achieving victory. In the same way that without conquering air superiority it is unthinkable to obtain victory, without electronic superiority it is unthinkable to achieve it.
According to what the images released by the US government show, the drones that Iran would have exhibited to the Russian delegation are the Shahed 191 and the Shahed 129.
The Shahed 191 It is a drone to which the Iranians put a turbojet, so it can reach speeds of up to 300 kph for four and a half hours, with a range of 450 kilometers and a maximum height of 40,000 feet (approximately 12,200 meters).
It can carry a payload of 50kg, although Iran’s Fars News agency says that’s enough to charge two smart bombs.
It is basically a tactical drone, which can be mounted on a vehicle and does not need a runway. The vehicle, by moving at high speed, supposedly gives it enough climb momentum to gain initial altitude.
The Shahed 129, on the other hand, is an imitation of the US Army’s MQ-9 Predator. It is a model designed for reconnaissance and combat, and is capable of attacking mobile or fixed targets.
It has a length of about 14 meters, a wingspan of 17 meters, and a height of 4.8 meters. It can reach a speed of 150 km/h, with an operating radius of 1,700 km and a range of 24 hours.
It can carry four Sadid-345 smart bombs and is controlled from a ground station and requires a pilot and an operator to manage the flight of the aircraft. According to estimates it has a cost of 7.5 million dollars.