Iran's Unmanned Aircraft Development Tracks

Shahed and Mohajer's drones are a field of existence for Iran which continues to develop "drone" technology.

AP PHOTO/TOMER NEUBERG

Israel's Iron Dome air defense system intercepts a missile fired from Iran (14/42024). The Israeli military said Iran fired more than 100 bomb-carrying drones towards Israel. A few hours later Iran launched a ballistic missile.

Iran carried out a retaliatory attack on Israel for the air attack on the Iranian Representative Office in Damascus, Syria, last Monday (1/4/2024). Based on direct reporting from the BBC news agency, on April 13 2024 at 22.13 Tehran began attacking certain targets in Israel. The attacks that were part of Operation Pledge of Allegiance not only launched ballistic missiles, but also drones.

Iran is known as one of the countries capable of producing drones. Iranian drones have also been recorded as being used by a number of countries, including Russia. The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) page shows how Iran continues to develop drone technology.

One indication of this development was presented at an Iranian weapons exhibition held by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Air Force Museum in Tehran on November 19 2023. One thing that was shown was Iran's ability to develop unmanned aerial vehicle technology or unmanned aircraft that can be controlled remotely.

The newest drone on display at the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps exhibition is the Shahed-139 drone, which has high cruising capabilities and long endurance. The Shahed-139 is equipped with synthetic radar capabilities and a satellite communications system that can expand its operational range.

The Shahed-139 is an advanced version of the Shahed-129 drone which is the mainstay of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). According to IISS records, the Shahed-129 drone was used in the Syrian war.

Apart from the Shahed-139, Iran is also testing the Shahed-147 drone which can fly up to 60,000 feet. With the ability to fly high above 10,000 feet, the Shahed-147 drone is in the high altitude long endurance (HALE) category. Even though it is still in the development stage, the Shahed-147 reconnaissance drone has comparable capabilities to the Northrop Grumman Global Hawk owned by the United States and Germany.

AFP/ LOUAI BESHARA

Security personnel relocated damaged cars from the debris of the building at the site of an attack that hit the Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Monday (1/4/2024).

History of Iran's drone development

The existence of Iranian drones has recently been widely mentioned in the Russia-Ukraine war. In October 2022, Russia bombarded 10 regions of Ukraine using kamikaze drones. Ukraine accused the drone of being an Iranian-made Shahed-136 drone. This is because the combat drone has triangular wings typical of Iranian production.

The Shahed-136 drone can roam up to 1,300 km and can carry a warhead weighing 40 kg. Previously, the existence of the Shahed drone emerged in July 2021. The name of the Shahed-136 drone was mentioned in the attack on an Israeli oil tanker that killed two people. Iran's drones were also implicated in attacks that damaged Saudi Arabia's crude oil production facilities in December 2019.

Most recently, Iran, the US said, was behind the drone attack that killed three US soldiers in Jordan in January 2024. The Guardian reported that US military officials said that the attack was carried out via a type of Shahed drone.

SEPAH NEWS/AFP

This photo released by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard on September 27 2013 shows the appearance of the Shahed-129 drone in Tehran.

Tracing back, news regarding Iranian drones began to be recorded in the media in December 2011. At that time Iran succeeded in paralyzing the RQ-170 Sentinel drone belonging to the US armed forces on the Afghan border. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard team then also succeeded in deciphering the codes in the drone system. Afterwards, Iran immediately began the process of reverse engineering the US drone and then produced its own Iranian version of the drone.

However, long before that, the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) and The Primer Iran stated that Iran had been developing the Mohajer-1 and Ababil-2 drones since 1999. In the publication of these institutions on the iranprimer.usip.orgit was stated that the Mohajer-1 drone was made with simple technology, namely still using one camera.

The next series, namely Mohajer-2, has a flight time of around 1.5 hours with a flight distance of 50-150 km. Almost the same as the Mohajer series, the Ababil-2 drone which was also developed by Iran has a flight duration of two hours with a distance of 120 km. The Ababil-2 mission at that time, among other things, was used as a reconnaissance drone.

To date, The Primer Iran and USIP have noted that the latest series of drones is the Ababil-5 which will be launched in 2022. This drone can roam up to 480 km and can carry four missiles with a range of 8 km.

Meanwhile, the latest series of Mohajer drones is the Mohajer-10 with the ability to fly up to 1,800 km and can carry 300 kg of explosives. With its cruising capability, the Mohajer-10 can already reach Israeli territory.

Apart from Ababil and Mohajer, another series of Iranian drones is Shahed. The Shahed drone family includes the Shahed-129, which was launched in 2012, and the latest Shahed-149 Gaza series. The Shahed-149 Gaza unmanned aircraft, which will be introduced in 2021, has the longest range, namely being able to reach a distance of 2,000 km.

AP/IRANIAN ARMY

Photos released by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Army on August 24 2022 show a number of drones ready to be launched during military exercises in Iran.

Iran's drone development strategy

The timeline above provides an illustration of how Iran is serious about developing drone technology. Compared to developing fighter aircraft, drone technology is relatively easy to develop and does not require high costs. Apart from that, the production time is also faster than making one fighter jet.

Iran Watch in its report, "The Private Companies Propelling Iran's Drone Industry (2023)" outlines five core elements that play an important role in Iran's drone development. These five elements are BUMN, military, universities, industry and knowledge-based private companies.

Also read: Iran Attacks Israel with Hundreds of Drones

The backbone of production is in the hands of Iranian state-owned companies, namely Aircraft Manufacturing Industries (HESA) and Qods Aviation Industries (QAI), which were founded in the 1980s. The establishment of this institution was an initial indication of Iran's vision of developing its weapons power through drone technology. These two state-owned companies are responsible for producing various drones, especially the Ababil and Mohajer types.

This development effort is supported by information technology experts trained at a number of Iranian universities. On the other hand, military institutions also play a role as drone capacity developers.

AP/PLANET LABS PBC

Satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows the United States military headquarters often referred to as Tower 22 in Jordan. A drone attack on Tower 22 killed three US soldiers, Sunday (28/1/2024). The US blamed the attacks on Iranian drones.

As users of drones, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Air Force together with Shahed Aviation Industries continues to provide input on the development of Shahed drone capabilities, one of which was used by Russia on the Ukrainian battlefield. The Army's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also helped develop the Meraj series of combat drones.

The development of drone technology is Iran's desire to achieve the independence of its national defense system and its drive to fortify itself to prevent attacks from other countries, such as when it was attacked by Iraq in 1980. However, this independence does not mean closing cooperation with other parties. in the development of drone.

Iran Watch said that Iran's drone technology development ecosystem also involves a number of parties from other countries. The results of an examination of the wreckage of several Iranian drones used by the Russian military in Ukraine found that some of the drone components were produced by companies in Asia, Europe and the US.

Also read: Iran's Combat “Drones” Versus Israel's Layered Defense

This is the role of knowledge-based private companies in Iran's unmanned aircraft development ecosystem. These companies possess quality human resources, reliable technical expertise, and a global business network.

Although some of them have been sanctioned by the UN, Iran has been able to absorb their technology and produce their own main components domestically. One example is the company Oje Parvaz Mado Nafar, founded by Yousef Aboutalebi.

This company that imported machines from abroad was initially only able to purchase imported machines. However, since 2007, they have succeeded in copying the manufacture of piston engines and Wankel engines. Now the company is the main supplier of the Shahed series of kamikaze attack drones.

Iran vs Israel War

The long track record of developing drones has made Iran continue to exist in world geopolitics. Iranian-made drones used in several battlefields have a deadly deterrent effect. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as quoted by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (14/11/2022), said that Russia ordered 2,400 Iranian drones of the Shahed-136 and Shahed 131 models. The price of one Shahed drone -136 is priced at up to 30,000 US dollars or around Rp. 475 million.

The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) and The Iran Primer said that by early 2024 Iran would have marketed its drones to five countries and seven militias in the Middle East. However, Israeli monitoring shows the potential for wider spread. The Israeli government said Iran was in talks with 50 countries to sell dronesand missiles.

Also read: Five Layers of Israel's Air Defense System Claimed to be Effective in Overcoming Iranian Attacks

The rapid development of Iran's unmanned aerial vehicles continues to make Israel maintain its defense radar. For example, in November 2021, Israel held a military exercise for the elite Golani unit, attended by 3,000 soldiers. The exercise targeted strategic targets, namely the Chabahar Port and Qeshm Island in Iran, which are known as Iranian unmanned aerial vehicle bases.

This vigilance is needed by Israel to ward off as early as possible an Iranian attack with missiles and droneswhich could be launched at any time. (COMPAS R&D)

Also read: The Role of Drones is Increasingly Strategic for Defense