Despite being under sanctions for nearly half a century
Iran has shown a remarkable ability to develop and build its own unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
The first UAV series is Ababil with a simple operating mechanism
Together with the reconnaissance UAVs developed later, they were effectively used by Iran on the front lines
In the post-war period, Tehran decided to focus entirely on the development and production of unmanned aircraft systems
Iran's aviation industry includes a number of scientific and technical organizations
aircraft manufacturing and repair factories, as well as many related enterprises that manufacture various UAV parts
Almost all enterprises in this industry, overseen by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)
are directly or indirectly involved in the development and construction of UAVs
Iran then began mass-producing UAVs.
This is supposed to help offset the Air Force's limited capacity
including the inability to build a complete fighter jet due to international sanctions
Iran has made significant progress in the development and construction of UAVs of all major classes
from light tactical reconnaissance vehicles to heavy attack and reconnaissance systems
both guided bombs and short-range missiles to lethal weapons and especially "suicide" UAVs - supposedly used in Ukraine recently
That progress is based on a few basic principles: scientific and technical cooperation, mainly with China
use technologies and components for their own production; collect American and Israeli UAVs for deep research and reverse engineering
Therefore, despite being under sanctions from the US and the West for the past 43 years
So far, Iran has produced about 40 different drone models
The main Iranian UAVs are Ababil, Kaman, Kian, Mohajer and Shahed
According to experts, Iran's most effective and powerful drones include the Shahed, Mohajer, Kaman and Kian
In particular, Shahed 129 is considered one of the most capable UAVs in Iran's arsenal
Visually, it is very similar to the American RQ-1/MQ-1 Predator. This UAV made its first flight in the spring of 2012
Another, the Shahed 136, is Iran's most effective "suicide" UAV, first introduced in 2020
Ukraine accuses Russia of using the drone to attack its energy infrastructure