Iran Has Begun Training Russia to Use Its Advanced Drones, U.S. Says
By Dion Nissenbaum, Aug. 10, 2022, WSJ

Last month, the U.S. released unclassified images the White House said showed Russian officials visiting an Iranian military drone base. The U.S. said Iran showed the Russian delegation two different kinds of drones that could be used in Ukraine: the
Shahed-129, a Predator-style drone that can fly more than 1,000 miles with missiles, and the Shahed-191, a flying-wing drone capable of carrying missiles for about 300 miles.

Both drones would provide Moscow with valuable new firepower to use against Ukraine, which has been deploying Turkish drones against Russian forces with great effect.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan said last month that Russia “deepening an alliance with Iran to kill Ukrainians is something that the whole world should look at.”

Iran has emerged as one of the world’s most feared drone developers. The U.S. and Israel have accused Iran and its proxies of using its drones to carry out attacks against Saudi Arabia’s oil industry, American forces in Syria, and ships in the
Persian Gulf.

U.S. officials say that Russia has turned to Iran for help in countering American military support for Ukraine. The U.S. is sending Ukraine more than 500 small kamikaze-style battlefield drones. And Turkey has provided Ukraine with 50 more advanced
drones that the military has used to destroy Russian convoys and warships. The Turkish Bayraktar drone has been so effective that Ukrainians even wrote a folk song celebrating it.

Turkish media reported this week that Baykar, the Turkish company that makes the Bayraktar, is in the process of building a drone factory in Ukraine.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/iran-has-begun-training-russia-to-use-its-advanced-drones-u-s-says-11660135921

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