Russia's Iran-Made Drones 'Failing' and Not Meeting Expectations: Pentagon

TR_123456

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Iranian-made drones being used by Russian forces in Ukraine have suffered from "numerous failures on the battleground," according to one top U.S. official.

The claim was made by Sasha Baker, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy at the Department of Defense.

On Wednesday, Baker attended a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Brussels, which was chaired by William A. LaPlante, Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment.

Baker told the assembled officials that Moscow had sent personnel to Iran so they could learn to use Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, according to a Department of Defense report that was published Friday.

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Above, Iranians walk past Iran's Shahed 129 drone displayed during celebrations in Tehran to mark the 37th anniversary of the Islamic revolution on February 11, 2016. Iranian-made drones being used by Russian forces in Ukraine have suffered from "numerous failures on the battleground," according to one top U.S. official. ATTA KENARE/AFP/GETTY

Baker said that seeking Iranian help is a sign of "desperation" from the Russians, adding sanctions and export controls had caused major supply problems for Putin's forces.

Baker added that the Russians had already had problems with their Iranian-made drones, saying: "We have seen some evidence already that the UAVs associated with the transfer from Iran have already experienced numerous failures on the battleground."

In July, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Russian defense officials had visited Iran looking to buy drones.

Ukraine said it shot down an Iranian-made drone for the first time on September 13, with the UAVs being blamed for a string of attacks on Ukrainian targets throughout the month.

The Eastern European country also said at the time that a Russian reconnaissance drone was destroyed in Mykolaiv. Multiple howitzers, tanks and armored vehicles were also reportedly destroyed, while Ukraine said it killed at least 27 Russian troops. Newsweek has not independently verified any of Ukraine's claims.

According to the Ukrainian military, the Russians are using Iranian Shahed-136 loitering munitions, also known as kamikaze drones, along with Mohajer-6 drones, which can carry out airstrikes or reconnaissance.

Late last month, the Air Force Command of Ukraine's Armed Forces said on Facebook that it had shot down four Shahed-136 drones over the southern Mykolaiv region, though admitted other drones made it through to hit Kryvyi Rih and Ochakov, without causing casualties.

"The enemy continues aerial reconnaissance using UAVs and also activates air attacks using Iranian kamikaze drones of the Shahed-136 type. It was in this way that the port infrastructure of Ochakov was once again struck. One of the two attacking drones was shot down by our units, the other hit a port tug. Firefighters promptly extinguished the fire. There are no casualties," the Facebook post read.

It continued: "Another kamikaze drone Shahed-136 attacked Kryvyi Rih. As a result of hitting a two-story non-residential building, a fire broke out, which was promptly extinguished. There are no casualties."

In response to the provision of drones, the U.S. imposed sanctions on three Iranian drone companies early last month.

Brian E. Nelson, undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said in a press release that the U.S. "will not hesitate" to target UAV producers that contribute to Middle Eastern terrorist proxies and regional destabilization.

However, speaking to Newsweek last month, Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran Program at the Middle East Institute, said he "very much" doubts the sanctions will be effective.

"This is the basic reality: The U.S. has put over a thousand sanctions on Iranian individuals and entities," he said. "There isn't much the U.S. can sanction to make a difference to the overall approach of Iran. Drones are classified as Iran misbehaving or not respecting U.S. sanctions on Russia."

Newsweek contacted the Russian Ministry of Defense for comment.

 

Fuzuli NL

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Iranian-made drones being used by Russian forces in Ukraine have suffered from "numerous failures on the battleground," according to one top U.S. official.

The claim was made by Sasha Baker, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy at the Department of Defense.

On Wednesday, Baker attended a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Brussels, which was chaired by William A. LaPlante, Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment.

Baker told the assembled officials that Moscow had sent personnel to Iran so they could learn to use Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, according to a Department of Defense report that was published Friday.

View attachment 48326
Above, Iranians walk past Iran's Shahed 129 drone displayed during celebrations in Tehran to mark the 37th anniversary of the Islamic revolution on February 11, 2016. Iranian-made drones being used by Russian forces in Ukraine have suffered from "numerous failures on the battleground," according to one top U.S. official. ATTA KENARE/AFP/GETTY

Baker said that seeking Iranian help is a sign of "desperation" from the Russians, adding sanctions and export controls had caused major supply problems for Putin's forces.

Baker added that the Russians had already had problems with their Iranian-made drones, saying: "We have seen some evidence already that the UAVs associated with the transfer from Iran have already experienced numerous failures on the battleground."

In July, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Russian defense officials had visited Iran looking to buy drones.

Ukraine said it shot down an Iranian-made drone for the first time on September 13, with the UAVs being blamed for a string of attacks on Ukrainian targets throughout the month.

The Eastern European country also said at the time that a Russian reconnaissance drone was destroyed in Mykolaiv. Multiple howitzers, tanks and armored vehicles were also reportedly destroyed, while Ukraine said it killed at least 27 Russian troops. Newsweek has not independently verified any of Ukraine's claims.

According to the Ukrainian military, the Russians are using Iranian Shahed-136 loitering munitions, also known as kamikaze drones, along with Mohajer-6 drones, which can carry out airstrikes or reconnaissance.

Late last month, the Air Force Command of Ukraine's Armed Forces said on Facebook that it had shot down four Shahed-136 drones over the southern Mykolaiv region, though admitted other drones made it through to hit Kryvyi Rih and Ochakov, without causing casualties.

"The enemy continues aerial reconnaissance using UAVs and also activates air attacks using Iranian kamikaze drones of the Shahed-136 type. It was in this way that the port infrastructure of Ochakov was once again struck. One of the two attacking drones was shot down by our units, the other hit a port tug. Firefighters promptly extinguished the fire. There are no casualties," the Facebook post read.

It continued: "Another kamikaze drone Shahed-136 attacked Kryvyi Rih. As a result of hitting a two-story non-residential building, a fire broke out, which was promptly extinguished. There are no casualties."

In response to the provision of drones, the U.S. imposed sanctions on three Iranian drone companies early last month.

Brian E. Nelson, undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said in a press release that the U.S. "will not hesitate" to target UAV producers that contribute to Middle Eastern terrorist proxies and regional destabilization.

However, speaking to Newsweek last month, Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran Program at the Middle East Institute, said he "very much" doubts the sanctions will be effective.

"This is the basic reality: The U.S. has put over a thousand sanctions on Iranian individuals and entities," he said. "There isn't much the U.S. can sanction to make a difference to the overall approach of Iran. Drones are classified as Iran misbehaving or not respecting U.S. sanctions on Russia."

Newsweek contacted the Russian Ministry of Defense for comment.

Shocker!
 

bisbis

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I think, again, the classic political or propaganda "an american official" statement. Why, the US official, not the Ukrainian general assembly, or the Ministry of Defense official. Because this war is America's war. Write these down as proofs.
 

bisbis

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I think the Russians are learning about drone operation right now. They will use it more effectively over time.
We will see how successful they are, especially when they start to do electronic mixing with the drone. Just like the use of the Tb2 + Koral electronic warfare system, Ukraine will suffer a lot of losses from Iranian drones. Maybe the Russians will make mixing pods and attach them to the drones.

Maybe the Russians are preparing to produce Iranian drones in their country. I hope that the Russian use of drones will be successful. Abd is doomed to lose.
E9EtfnXX0AUV0fG.jpg_large.jpg
 

Mehmed Ali

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I think, again, the classic political or propaganda "an american official" statement. Why, the US official, not the Ukrainian general assembly, or the Ministry of Defense official. Because this war is America's war. Write these down as proofs.
Well , check out those made in eretz Israel missiles which Iran used to hit Baghdad. Does contra gate affair rings a bell? And I am sure Marie Le Pen approves of your political position towards Stalin sorry I meant Putin
 

bisbis

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Well , check out those made in eretz Israel missiles which Iran used to hit Baghdad. Does contra gate affair rings a bell? And I am sure Marie Le Pen approves of your political position towards Stalin sorry I meant Putin
I don't understand, need explanation.
 

Mehmed Ali

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I wrote what is the Iranian reality on this forum a couple of times so I can't go over it. I will tell you just one thing, I remember when Hathemi boasted on Iranian TV how they helped USA in Iraq and Afghanistan. That's besides the point though as of now. What truly fascinates me , how someone who lived under that evil empire like Russia can support Russian irendentism ? For sake fighting American Empire you are suggesting that I support Russian Empire. They said a few weeks ago how Bosnia should be de nazified. So I should support that in the name of anti imperialism, anti colonialism and ant racism?
Do you honestly expect that, let's say Turks support the country which inabled Armenians to kill 518000 Turks and Kurds in 5 years. Russian forces facilitated Khoyali massager, the massacre of your people. All of it , and I can go on and on , for lemonade story of fighting anti imperialists?
Shall we Bosnians, return those nlaws etc to Brits and Americans to show our understanding for " suffering " colonised brothers?
Truly fascinating
 

Mehmed Ali

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I can't comprehend that someone who talks about imperialism supports pseudo fascism mixed with gangsterism? I simply can't
 

Azeri441

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Lol the drones are literally launched from a civilian dump truck, with the launch platform looking like it was constructed in someone's garage, what kind of quality would they expect?

Shahed 136 launcher Great Prophet v2.png
 

Fuzuli NL

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I know that many of us say that Iranian defence products in general are subpar or junk, which compared to western weapons may be true,
but even four out of 28 Shahed-136 kamikaze drones have inflicted great damage to the Ukrainian side and not to forget that swarm attacks mean that not all drones find their target.
Their success is undeniable as we have witnessed in the KSA oil plant attack a couple of years ago and are seeing currently that these simple devices can still cause notable destruction to their targets.

It's also good to see an Iranian here in the forum to experience their perspective first hand. Just fix your flags so we know who we're talking to.
 

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