Putin's cheap substitute: what can be learned from the performance of Iranian drones in Ukraine

The "Shahad-136" suicide drone will not decide the battle in favor of Russia, but it manages to challenge the Ukrainian army at least until it obtains advanced air defense systems from the West. Israel is also closely monitoring the aircraft, which will appear in any future conflict with Tehran or its allies in the region

Guy Ulster

17/10/2022

Monday, October 17, 2022, 11:30 a.m. Updated: 11:54 a.m.

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One of the greatest failures of the Russian military in Ukraine was its failure to achieve air superiority in the early days of the war.

Ukraine's military was able to shoot down many Russian planes and helicopters even with limited air defense systems and an outdated air force, and Moscow increasingly relied on long-range missiles.

As the invasion went awry and the fighting dragged on, the reserves began to run out and Russia had to look for a cheap and quick replacement, which it found in Iran.

Although Tehran continues to deny it, the remains of Iranian-made drones are piling up all over Ukraine. The United States warned of the deal being forged between the Kremlin and the Islamic Republic as early as July, when it reported on a visit by a Russian delegation to an airport south of Tehran where it examined the Shahad-136 suicide drone. " and a Mujahar-6 surveillance drone. The following month,

The suicide drones, each of which is estimated at only $20,000, are a type of "roaming weapon" that can ambush targets while in the air. The aircraft can carry weapons weighing about 40 kg and cover a distance of about 2,500 km, and they are easily launched from trucks. The drones cruise at a low altitude so they manage to avoid the radars, although their simple engine - like a lawnmower - makes them particularly noisy and easy to spot.

Zelensky claims that Russia ordered another 2,400 drones from Iran. The remains of "Shahad-136" in Kharkiv, this month (Photo: Reuters)

"It's too much for me to understand what these Russians are thinking. I don't know when we'll be able to remove them from our territory. It's just tears and heartache for my Ukraine. That's all I can say."

Ukraine claims a high rate of interception of suicide drones in the barrages rained down on it by Russia in the last week. Kyiv, which reduced its diplomatic relations with Tehran due to the supply of the aircraft to Russia, said that since the night hours it has shot down 28 drones launched by the Russian forces at Kyiv and other cities .

And according to Britain's Ministry of Defence, which provides a daily intelligence update on the war, the drones do not meet Russia's needs because they are "slow and easily hit."

Nevertheless, the increasing use of suicide drones challenges Ukraine's defense systems. "The whole point of using Shahads is that they fly in large groups and can overcome defense systems," Samuel Bendt, an expert from the American research institute CNA, told Foreign Policy magazine. "All that is needed is for one or two of them to sneak in."

"It puts the Ukrainians in a slightly more defensive position because their logistics, assembly lines, communications, warehouses and infrastructure could be compromised."

In Ukraine, they fear that Russia will target the drones on the civilian population as part of its desperate terror campaign. "It is beyond me to understand what these Russians are thinking.

I don't know when we will be able to remove them from our territory.

It's just tears and heartache for my Ukraine.

That's all I can say," said 74-year-old Lyudmila Rachavska, a resident of a town near Kiev, after a suicide drone attack earlier this month.

Explosions in the Kyiv region following an Iranian suicide drone attack (Telegram)

According to the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia has already ordered 2,400 more suicide drones from Iran, and in Kiev they have reorganized their list of demands from Western countries - advanced air defense systems, and as many of them as possible. The United States and its NATO allies have pledged to provide Ukraine with the best of their systems in the hope that they will neutralize the new Russian threat.

Since the beginning of the war, Zelensky and other senior officials in Kiev have been begging that Israel equip Ukraine with the "Iron Dome" and other systems that have already proven their effectiveness against rockets, missiles and aircraft, but in Jerusalem they are still reluctant to anger the Kremlin.

Israel is content at this stage, according to a report in the New York Times, to transfer basic information about the Iranian drones, while closely monitoring their performance.

Hezbollah has several types of Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicles and launched several of them at Asda Harish during the maritime border tensions in the summer, which subsided following the agreement with Lebanon.

Israel was able to intercept the drones, which were not armed, and this was an illustration of the nature of any future conflict that might break out between Israel and Iran or its supporters in the region. Tehran itself tried in recent years to penetrate Israel's skies with unmanned aircraft from the north or east. In the cases they were shot down outside the country's borders or near them without causing any damage, but the attacks included one or two drones and were not as extensive as those of the Russian army in Ukraine.

Last month, Iranian suicide drones attacked targets of Kurdish organizations in northern Iraq, in response to riots in the country that spread from the Kurdish province of Iran following the death of the young woman Mahasa Amini. At least nine people were killed and more than 30 wounded in the widespread attack on the Kurdish region in Iraq, which enjoys little air defense from the American forces stationed in the area.

One suicide drone that hits the target is enough. An infrastructure facility in the Kyiv region was hit by a suicide drone, last week (Photo: Reuters)

UAV warfare, which is gradually replacing conventional aerial warfare, is no stranger to Israel. This summer it "revealed" a well-known secret, when it confirmed the many publications about its extensive use of attack drones in the Gaza Strip.

In addition to this, Israeli drones are a sought-after commodity in the world and their sale is one of the main sources of income for the defense industries. The Israeli suicide drone "Haroop" played a significant part in Azerbaijan's victory in the war with Armenia in 2020, and last year it was reported that Morocco, which normalized relations with Israel as part of the "Abraham Agreements", will purchase drones of this model for 22 million dollars.

Unlike Israel's unmanned aerial vehicles, the Iranian drones are not expected to decide the battle in Ukraine and tip the scales in Moscow's favor. Their intensive use indicates more the weakness and distress of the Russian military than the extraordinary quality of the Iranian drones.

The Ukrainian army is expected to adapt to this threat as well, with the help of the most advanced air defense systems that the United States and European countries have to offer.

Even if they don't cover all of Ukraine's vast airspace, they will reduce the threat.

Along the way, all countries involved and others will learn from performance in the most evolving arena of warfare - the unmanned aerial vehicle.

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