Iran has sent the first combat drones to Russia for use in Ukraine, but the Russian military has already encountered numerous failures in their operation.
The Washington Post writes about it.
According to the publication, we are talking about Mohajer-6 and Shahed combat drones, which are intended for strikes on radar systems, artillery installations, and other military objects. Russian transport planes left Iran with the appropriate cargo on August 19.
A source close to US intelligence told WP that after the initial tests, the Russian military was left "unsatisfied" because some of the Iranian drones were found to be unusable. At the same time, the United States believes that Russia plans to purchase hundreds of such drones from Tehran.
At the same time, Michael Knights, an expert on military issues and security at the Washington Institute for Middle East Policy, critically assesses the capabilities of Iranian drones. According to him, Iran has never used its combat drones against sophisticated electronic warfare and air defense systems used in Ukraine.
"The closest theyʼve come is the Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia or US bases in Iraq, and theyʼve generally not done well. So I wouldnʼt be surprised that in a more tense environment like Ukraine, they would have some problems," Knights said.
Later, White House spokeswoman Karin Jean-Pierre confirmed that, according to the US, Russia received combat drones from Iran.
"According to our information, Russia received Mohajer-6 and Shahed drones from Iran in August," she said.
- On July 11, the United States reported that Iran would soon provide Russia with "up to several hundred UAVs" and train the Russian military to use them. Russia wants to get UAVs for the war against Ukraine against the background of significant losses of its drones.
- After that, Iran stated that it has not sold military equipment to Russia since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the territory of Ukraine and opposes further escalation of hostilities.
- On July 16, CNN reported that a Russian delegation visited Iran twice to inspect the Shahid-191 and Shahid-129 attack drones, which are capable of carrying missiles. CNN published a satellite image taken on the day of the Russiansʼ visit.