By 2024, Iran’s military-industrial complex had produced thousands of
advanced drones used for surveillance, reconnaissance, and combat used
against U.S. forces as well as American allies in the Middle East. The
drones (unmanned aerial vehicles) have become one of the greatest assets
of the Iranian-backed “Axis of Resistance”—a network of militias in
Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen—and one of the greatest dangers to
Iran’s regional rivals. Among notable attacks that marked turning points
in diverse Middle East conflicts:
On Jan. 28, 2024, an
Iranian-made drone attacked Tower 22, a U.S. outpost in Jordan along the
Iraq and Syrian borders, that killed three American soldiers and
injured more than 40.
In January 2024, 18 Iranian-designed drones were fired by the Houthis in Yemen on ships in the Red Sea.
In
September 2019, drones and cruise missiles fired from Iran attacked
Saudi Arabia’s largest oil processing facility, temporarily crippling
almost half of the kingdom’s petroleum output.
Iranian-backed
militias began using drones against U.S. military and diplomatic
targets in Iraq and Syria in 2021. In 2021 and 2022, Iranian-designed
drones were linked to at least 20 percent of attacks launched by
militias linked to Tehran, according to War on the Rocks.
Drone attacks on targets in Syria, Iraq and Jordan increased again
after war erupted between Hamas and Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Iran has
also supplied
hundreds of drones to Russia, beginning in 2022, that have been used
against civilian and military targets in Ukraine. Russia established its
own industry to replicate Iranian drone models.
Drones “pose the
most immediate threat to Middle East security because of their low cost,
widespread availability, and potential deniability—since their point of
origin can be disguised by employing a convoluted flight path,” Gen.
Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., former head of U.S. Central Command, wrote in a paper for the Washington Institute.
The technology has produced “an inflection point in aerial
warfare—comparable to the introduction of manned flight more than a
century ago—that has ended the guarantee of U.S. air superiority over
its forces and bases,” he warned in February 2023.
Fotros reconnaissance, surveillance, and combat drone
Iran’s drones have diverse capabilities:
Suicide drones: Iran
has at least 10 different models of suicide drones, which explode on
impact. They can be as accurate as a ballistic missile, but they can fly
lower to evade radar. Smaller models, such as the Shahed-136, carry
less than 45 kilograms (100 pounds) of explosives. One of the smallest
models, the Meraj-521, carries only 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds) of
explosives. Many are slow and therefore easier to shoot down
by anti-aircraft guns or missiles. Their ranges are as little as 5
kilometers (3 miles) or as far as 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles). Iran’s
largest suicide drones, such as the Arash series, can carry nearly 260
kilograms (575 pounds) of explosives. They have ranges of 2,000
kilometers (1,240 miles).
Combat and surveillance drones:
Iran has more than a dozen models of combat drones that can attack
ground, sea or air targets and then return to base. Larger models, such
as the Shahed-149, have ranges of 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) and can
carry up to 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds) of munitions or
electronic equipment.
Most of Iran’s combat drones, including
long-range models, also have surveillance capabilities. Their functions
range from taking photographs and video footage to marking targets for
bombers, fighters or other drones. Iran also has smaller
surveillance-only drones, such as the Hodhod-1, which have ranges as short as 30 kilometers (18 miles). They can only remain in the air for an hour or two at a time.
Several of Iran’s drones were modeled on captured U.S. drones, including the Predator, Reaper, Sentinel and ScanEagle 5 as well as the Israeli Hermes drone.
Iran has mimicked the shapes of the UAVs but has not necessarily
replicated all of the sophisticated on-board electronics. Iran has,
however, succeeded in importing U.S.-made parts – almost certainly through intermediaries – for less-advanced drones, including the Shahed-136.
Since 2015, Iran has reportedly launched drones on Saudi oilfields, dissident groups in Pakistan and Iraqi Kurdistan, and jihadi groups in Syria. In 2018, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed
to have conducted 700 drone strikes against ISIS targets in Syria
alone. Iran has deployed armed drones beyond its borders. Tehran began exporting drone technology to Hezbollah, a Shiite militia in Lebanon, in the 2000s. In 2004, Hezbollah became the world’s first
non-state actor to use military drones. And in 2006, Hezbollah – with
Iran’s help – used armed drones during its 34-day war with Israel. Iran
has exported drones or the technology to six other proxy militias and
five governments, including Russia, Venezuela, Sudan, Ethiopia and
Tajikistan. The following is a rundown of Iran’s most important drones,
which are operated by both IRGC and the Artesh, or conventional
military....
