Russia has become much more active in using unmanned aerial vehicles [UAVs or drones]
in the war.
By the end of September, mostly reconnaissance and not so much loitering munitions were fired
by the Russian armed forces.
However, October was the month Russia learned it had attack drones and kamikaze drones,
known among military experts and tacticians as loitering munitions.
Remains of unexploded loitering munitions revealed that Russia used quantities of [but
not limited to] Iranian-made Shahed-129 and Shahed-136.
The first is a reconnaissance and attack drone, and the second explodes upon reaching the
target.
Russia armed both with the GLONASS navigation system to increase their range and for better
efficiency.
But what did Russia give Iran to get them?
It is already difficult for Moscow to deny their existence as part of the inventory of
the Russian army.
We already reported back in the summer that Russian officials were in Tehran visiting
the drone factories.
All Western intelligence reported this fact.
Money?
In the situation it is in, the Russian Federation could have paid 100 for the drone, but rather
not.
Moscow has the money to buy Iranian drones, but in war, all resources are diverted to
production, repair, or refurbishment.
Some claim that Moscow has already sold [gifted] at a very low super-preferential price about
60 Su-35 Flanker-F fighters for thousands of Iranian drones.
Iran needs fighter jets because the local Air Force is in an unfit state for modern
combat or military requirements.
American media claim the same thing, although, at the moment, there is no real evidence that
such a transfer of technology has taken place.
Iran needs air defense systems too.
We have repeatedly written that Tehran has an appetite not only for the Russian S-400
but also for their latest S-500 air defense system, adapted to shoot down low-orbit satellites.
However, such a transfer has also not been proven to have occurred.
It is possible that Russia provided another type of weaponry other than the requested
air defense systems and aircraft from the Islamic Republic.
However, it is a fact that Russia is losing market positions, especially in the international
markets for fighter jets.
Some customers have already given up Russian fighter jets due to the threat of economic
sanctions from Washington under the CAATSA law.
But for Russia, CAATSA is the least of their problems right now.
The bigger problem is the poor performance of Russian fighter jets in the war in Ukraine.
At least two squadrons of Su-35s are said to have been shot down over Ukraine.
If this is true, against the background of the impossibility of serious serial production
of the Su-57, nor clarity about the “chessman” Su-75, the Russian aero industry is headed
for devastating “bad publicity” that will negatively affect their sales.
even if the war stopped today.
And last but not least – there is a drone war.
And the Russian-made drones lose it, at the expense of the Turkish Bayraktar TB2 and apparently
the Iranian drones of the Shahed series.
Russia’s aerospace industry in the military equipment part is slowly going downhill, toward
the precipice of impossible existence.
The Russian flagship in the last years before the start of the war was Orlan-10.
Orlan was heavily advertised as being hard to kill, but completely failed in Ukraine.
Hundreds have been shot down and some have even been manually modified just to fulfill
their mission.
We even have a picture of Orlan-10 with a plastic water bottle adapted as a fuel tank.
This says enough that Russia did not attach much importance to a possible drone war, which
is actually being waged in Ukraine at the moment.
Moscow realized the need for drones late, especially after it was denied access to the
much-needed chips.
This is how the Iranian kamikazes appeared.
Meanwhile “The Russian Su-30 fighter was in our plans, but it is no longer on the agenda.
We are discussing the purchase of the Su-35 Flanker-E from Russia.
This aircraft is on the agenda and we hope to be able to get these 4th++ generation fighters
on the future,” the general told Iranian media.
Hamid Vahedi confirmed that the decision on the purchase of the Su-35 will be finally
made by the General Staff of the Armed Forces.
However, a BulgarianMilitary.com source in Iran confirmed to us that the decision has
already been made and will be announced soon.
This means that negotiations between Tehran and Moscow will begin in the coming months.
Against the background of the war in Ukraine, economic sanctions imposed on Russia, and
political isolation, Moscow is expected to respond positively to Iranian demands.
BulgarianMilitary.com recalls that, according to Turkish sources, Iran is ready to acquire
the 24 Su-35 fighters produced for Egypt.
Egypt refused at this stage their delivery, and the reasons could be two – a technical
problem that has not yet been eliminated by the Russians, or fear of economic sanctions
from Washington under the