Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Russia Desperately Imported Iranian Drones. Then, They Malfunctioned in Battle

Russia Desperately Imported Iranian Drones. Then, They Malfunctioned in Battle

Moscow has reportedly lost nearly 1,000 drones in six months of war, forcing it to import Iranian drones.

Russia’s first shipment of Iranian military drones is a mixed bag, with some of the drones malfunctioning just weeks after delivery. The drones were pressed into service after heavy losses depleted Moscow’s own fleet. The deal underscores how vital Russia believes drones to be in modern warfare—and how far it’s willing to go to gain its battlefield drone capabilities back.


At the start of the war, Russia had a formidable drone arsenal. Drones were a key part of the Russian Ground Forces’ “reconnaissance-strike complex” doctrine, which calls for drones to quickly find targets for artillery strikes. The Russian arsenal includes low-altitude intelligence/surveillance/reconnaissance drones like the Orlan-10, Orlan-30, and Zastava, and larger medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) reconnaissance drones such as Forpost-R and Orion.

Six months of war has ground the arsenal down. An independent study of images of Russian equipment losses has concluded the military has lost at least 5,362 tanks, aircraft, armored vehicles, howitzers, trucks, and drones, including 120 military drones. The Ukrainian military goes even further, claiming it has destroyed 847 drones. The life of a drone is hazardous and short, with drones typically sent to places deemed too risky for humans. They’re typically lost through air defense fire, small arms fire, operator error, and accidental crashes. Drones are often considered “semi-attritable,” meaning armies expect to lose them at a higher rate than crewed aircraft as the price of doing business.


Despite the losses, Russia is anxious to make up for its losses. The Washington Post reports that, after several months of negotiations between Russian and Iranian officials, Russia agreed to replenish its ranks by buying a large consignment of homemade Iranian drones. It purchased Mohajer-6, Shahed-129 (pictured above), and Shahed-191 drones, the rough equivalent of Forpost-R and Orion MALE drones. It’s a particularly ironic situation as Russia has for decades supplied Iran with advanced weaponry.

“Russia needs more drones to support the war effort, and clearly it’s not building enough at home. That’s a key challenge for drone warfare,” Zachary Kallenborn, a weapons of mass destruction analyst with the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, tells Popular Mechanics. “Drones are cheap and expendable. But what happens when the drones run out?”


Russia’s drone crunch has come at a particularly dangerous time. The United States and NATO have provided the Armed Forces of Ukraine with a total of 28 long-range multiple launch rocket systems, including the truck-based M142 HIMARS and the M270 MLRS. The rocket launchers are wreaking havoc far behind Russian lines, destroying ammunition depots, air defense systems, and headquarters locations, laying the groundwork for the Ukrainian Army offensive in Kherson. Without drones, Russia has little chance of locating and destroying the rocket-launcher vehicles.


Iran is an unlikely supplier for Russia’s war machine, but no other country that builds drones will sell them to Russia due to internal policy or the weight of world opinion that overwhelmingly blames Russia for the war. “Iran has supplied drones to Middle Eastern allies for years,” Kallenborn says. “Those drones have been used in combat to cause significant harm. The Abqaiq-Khurais (drone) attack on Saudi oil processing facilities caused a 5 percent cut in global oil production. That experience translates into better equipment, and tactics that would be of great use to the Russians.”

Unfortunately for Russia, Iran’s drones are apparently not without their problems. The Washington Post reports that several have malfunctioned in Ukraine, and that “the Russians are not satisfied.” Whether these problems can be fixed in time to be of use remains to be seen.


There’s also the question of how long a non-stealthy drone flying at 10,000 feet can survive over Ukraine. Ukraine’s air defense network is largely intact, and it is evidently responsible for downing Russia’s homegrown MALE drones. Ukraine’s air defenses are also set to become deadlier than ever, with the imminent deployment of NATO-supplied NASAMS and IRIS-T missile systems.

Russia’s purchase of Iranian drones makes clear that even Moscow believes drones have become an indispensable asset in modern warfare. It also makes clear that Russia’s industrial capacity is not capable of replenishing losses. Finally, it tells us international sanctions are crippling its ability to buy good drones, to the point where it must settle for second-rate Iranian drones. In Ukraine, Russia is between a drone and a hard place, and it won’t get easier for Moscow any time soon.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Unelected PM of the UK holds an emergency meeting because a candidate got voted in… which he says is a threat to democracy…
Farmers break through police barriers in Brussels.
Ukraine Arrests Father-Son Duo In Lockbit Cybercrime Bust
US Offers $15 Million For Info On Leaders Of Cybercrime Group Lockbit
Apple warns against drying iPhones with rice
Alexei Navalny: UK sanctions Russian prison chiefs after activist's death
German economy is in 'troubled waters' - ministry
In a recent High Court hearing, the U.S. argued that Julian Assange endangered lives by releasing classified information.
Tucker Carlson says Boris Johnson wants "a million dollars, in Bitcoin or cash, from Tucker Carlson to talk about Ukraine.
Russia is rebuilding capacity to destabilize European countries, new UK report warns
EU Commission wants anti-drone defenses at Brussels HQ
Von der Leyen’s 2nd-term pitch: More military might, less climate talk
EU Investigates TikTok for Child Safety Concerns
EU Launches Probe Into TikTok Over Child Protection Under Digital Content Law
EU and UK Announce Joint Effort on Migration
Ministers Confirm Proposal to Prohibit Mobile Phone Usage in English Schools
Avdiivka - Symbol Of Ukrainian Resistance Now In Control Of Russian Troops
"Historic Step": Zelensky Signs Security Pact With Germany
"Historic Step": Zelensky Signs Security Pact With Germany
Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has died at the Arctic prison colony
Tucker Carlson grocery shopping in Russia. This is so interesting.
France and Germany Struggle to Align on European Defense Strategy
‘A lot higher than we expected’: Russian arms production worries Europe’s war planners
Greece Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage and Adoption Rights
Russia "Very Close" To Creating Cancer Vaccines, Says Vladimir Putin
Hungarian Foreign Minister: Europeans will lose Europe, the Union's policy must change drastically
Microsoft says it caught hackers from China, Russia and Iran using its AI tools
US Rejects Putin's Ceasefire Offer in Ukraine
The Dangers of Wildfire Smoke and Self-Protection Strategies
A Londoner has been arrested for expressing his Christian beliefs.
Chinese Women Favor AI Boyfriends Over Humans
Greece must address role in migrant vessel disaster that killed 600: Amnesty
Google pledges 25 million euros to boost AI skills in Europe
Hungarian President Katalin Novák Steps Down Amid Pardon Controversy
Activist crashes Hillary Clinton's speech, calls her a 'war criminal.'
In El Salvador, the 'Trump of Latin America' stuns the world with a speech slamming woke policing after winning a landslide election
Trudeau reacts to Putin's mention of Canadian Parliament applauding a former Ukrainian Nazi in his interview with Tucker Carlson.
The Spanish police blocked the farmers protest. So the farmers went out and moved the police car out of the way.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy fires top Ukraine army commander
Tucker Carlson's interview with Vladimir Putin raises EU concerns
Finnish Airline, Finnair, is voluntarily weighing passengers to better estimate flight cargo weight
Russia's Economy Expands by 3.6% Due to Increased Military Spending
Ukraine MPs Vote To Permit Use Of Dead Soldiers' Sperm
German Princess Becomes First Aristocrat To Pose Naked On Playboy Cover
UK’s King Charles III diagnosed with cancer
EU's Ursula von der Leyen Confronts Farmer Protests Amid Land Policy Debates
Distinguishing Between Harmful AI Media and Positive AI-Generated Content: A Crucial Challenge for the EU
Tucker Carlson explains why he interviewed Putin
Dutch farmers are still protesting in the Netherlands against the government, following the World Economic Forum's call for 'owning nothing.'
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stands up for European farmers and says, 'Brussels is suffocating European farmers.
×