In addition to Russia, there are Iranian drone factories in Venezuela. There the weapons are converted – and improved.
Tehran - Iran's drones are popular: Russia uses them for its war in Ukraine, but China and South America are also interested in the unmanned aerial vehicles. The Islamic Republic is believed to export its technologies to 22 countries. The drones are often used as a template to make independent modifications.
The “Zagel-3” recently appeared in Sudan, the design of which suggests that it was a converted Ababil drone from Iran. This was reported by the American news media
Bloomberg
and the
NZZ.
Iran's drone exports are increasing - also used in the Ukraine war
In February, Iran's state-run
Islamic Republic News
Agency reported that Tehran's arms exports had increased four to five times over the past two years. The ability to innovate has also increased to the same extent: only at the end of last year did the IRGC Aerospace Force
Three new versions of Shahed drones presented – faster, quieter, deadlier.
Moscow should also benefit from this. The Shahed drones are central to the Ukraine war because they are cheaper than conventional cruise missiles and can therefore be used in large numbers. In Russia, the Shahed-136 are produced under the name Geran-2. In contrast to their Iranian counterpart, the Geran-2 have additional vertical stabilizers above and below the wing tips. Tehran denies supplying drones to the Kremlin after the war began.
Tajikistan and Venezuela built Iranian drone factories
In Venezuela, the drones inspired by the Islamic Republic are called ANSU-100 and ANSU-200. These are modernized versions of the Mohajer-2 and Shahed-171. According to the
Washington Institute for Near East Policy,
Tehran and Caracas have been developing weapons together since the early 2000s. Venezuela's then-President Hugo Chávez confirmed in 2012 that an Iranian drone factory was being built in the South American country.
This has also existed in Tajikistan since May 2022, which has reached a new level of escalation in the border dispute with neighboring Kyrgyzstan. The factory produces Ababil-2 drones. The Tajik government denies a possible delivery to Moscow. Unmanned aerial vehicles are produced in all Central Asian countries. Most of the bodies come from Turkey.
Drones: Iran is building global authoritarian partnerships
With its global drone trade, Iran has found authoritarian weapons production partners around the world. On the one hand, this helps with the procurement of components: Iran is under strict economic sanctions, which make it difficult to import European or American goods. But don't make it impossible: According to
Bloomberg
, the Shahed-136 consist
almost entirely of components of European or American origin.
On the other hand, authoritarian cooperation also ensures a fluid exchange of knowledge. This means drones can be developed even faster and better. Proof of this can already be found in January. At that time, an Iranian kamikaze drone attacked an American military position in Jordan. The aircraft had bypassed the defense systems by following a US drone on its approach to land. Experts believe that Iran copied this maneuver from Russia.
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