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U.S., Israel Keeping an Eye on Iran’s Growing Military Drones Industry

Arie Egozi - : Oct 8, 2024 - : 8:12 pm

Armed drones are changing the shape of wars. The trend began in Ukraine and has now reached massive volumes in the war Israel is conducting against the Hezbollah in Lebanon, a major Iranian proxy.

With no effective air force , the Iranians have built a big UAV industry to have another way of hitting targets in Israel and the Gulf. According to Tal Inbar, an Israeli senior expert on UAVs, the Iranians have built a very big and advanced UAV industry. Iran is reportedly sending drones to Russia, with Israeli experts saying that the shipments include hundreds of different types of UAVs.

According to Israeli sources, the Iranian UAV industry was developed using imported parts that were bought in various nations by a number of “straw” companies. This was done to bypass international sanctions. Among the advanced armed UAVs that Iran has unveiled recently is the Ababil 5. “This UAV is about 5 meters long and has a wingspan of 7 meters,” said Inbar.

According to the Israeli expert, UAVs frequently rely on civilian components that can be obtained even online, unlike the heavy industry required to produce armored platforms and ballistic missiles. Some of the Iranian UAVs have been manufactured based on reverse engineering of American and Israeli drones that were shot down in Iranian airspace.

The Iranian UAV industry is expanding to other countries. In May, 2017, the Iranian press reported on the inauguration ceremony of a UAV factory that was established In Tajikistan.
Israeli defence sources said that the plant is currently producing older models of the Iranian Ababail UAV. On May 28, 2022, Iran unveiled an underground UAV base, at an undisclosed location. Among various types of drones and munitions, a new, small, air launched cruise missile was also observed. The new cruise missile is carried by an Iranian copy of the U.S Predator UAV made by GA-ASI.

In a recent development, Teheran built an assembly line for UAVs in Russia. after supplying large numbers of armed UAVs to Russia that are being used in Ukraine, According to a report in the Teheran Times, the Iranian production site in Tajikistan is now producing the Ababil -2 UAV. According to the report, Iran’s cooperation with Tajikistan can serve as a model for West Asia if they abandon their subordination to the U.S. and live in a “fearless world.”

The regional development effort has already been impacted by Iran’s new strategy on armament production. A senior Iranian military official said that his nation has developed a long-range suicide drone that could hit a significant number of Israeli cities along the Mediterranean coast. Some of these armed drones are launched by the Houthi rebels in Yeman, another very active proxy, to hit civilian targets in Israel.

Raz Zimmet, an Israeli expert on Iranian issues, said that the production of military drones makes Iran a regional power. The U.S and Israel are closely following the increasing capabilities of the Iranian UAV industry, which has been boosted in recent months by the money paid by Moscow for the armed UAVs used in Ukraine.

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