Russia likely ran out of Iranian kamikaze drones: UK Defence Ministry
No reports of Russian kamikaze drone attacks in Ukraine over the last 10 days likely indicates that Russian forces „run down its current stock,” British Defence Ministry has reported.
The Iranian-made Shahed 129 drone.Tasnim News Agency, CC BY 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
It said in a tweet that „there have not been any reports of Iranian one-way-attack uncrewed aerial vehicles (OWA-UAVs) being used in Ukraine since around 15 February 2023.”
According to the ministry, Russia is likely to resupply the drones, despite them not having „a good record in destroying their intended targets.”
„Russia likely sees them as useful decoys which can divert Ukrainian air defences from more effective Russian cruise missiles,” the ministry added.
Earlier this month, The Guardian newspaper reported on its website that Iran used boats and a state-owned airline to smuggle at least 18 new-type, advanced, long-range armed drones to Russia.
The news came after Russian officers and technicians made a visit to Tehran in November and were shown a full range of Iran’s technologies, according to The Guardian.
The 10-man Russian delegation chose six Mohajer-6 drones, which can fly up to around 200 km away and carry two missiles under each wing, as well as 12 Shahed 191 and 129 drones, which also have an air-to-ground strike capability, The Guardian reported.
Russia has so far heavily used the better-known Shahed 131 and 136 drones, deploying them in kamikaze raids against Ukrainian targets, according to experts.
The new, higher-flying UAVs are designed to deliver bombs and return to base intact, Iranian sources have told The Guardian.
The new drone deal highlights the growing closeness between Iran and Russia, which are both hostile towards the United States, since Vladimir Putin started his unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February last year, The Guardian reported.
(tf)
Source: PAP, twitter
