Report: Iran Smuggled Advanced Drones to Russia
Iran smuggled new types of advanced long-range armed drones to Russia to use in its war on Ukraine, The Guardian reported, citing unnamed Iranian sources. At least 18 such drones were delivered to the Russian Navy following a November visit to Tehran by a 10-member Russian delegation, who were given a preview of Iran’s technologies. The selected six Mohajer-6 drones, which have a range of around 200 km, and 12 Shahed 191 and 129 drones, which also have an air-to-ground strike capability; these drones fly higher and return intact after dropping their explosive payload, according to the report. Iran also has been using the Russian Shahed 131 and 136 drones, known as kamikaze drones.
Russia has turned to Iran and also North Korea to replenish its stocks of missiles, The Guardian reported.
Most of the drones sent to Russia were secretly picked up by an Iranian boat from a base on the coast of the Caspian Sea and then transferred at sea to a Russian navy boat, and others were sent on a state-owned Iranian airline, the Iranian sources told The Guardian. Iran has sent technicians to Moscow to help get the drones into service, according to the report.
The drones were produced in the military factory in the central city of Isfahan that was targeted on January 28 by a drone strike blamed on Israel, the report said. Israel is believed to have been motivated by its own national security concerns, and was not trying to intervene in the Ukraine war, it also noted.
