In the ongoing US–Israel–Iran war, there was an asymmetry of air power between Iran and the US–Israel combined forces. Yet, drones created multiple operational options for Iran. Iran deployed various types of drones for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) and for undertaking air strike missions against air defence systems, critical military and civil infrastructure, oil refineries and airports.

Iranian drones destroyed oil fields and refineries of Gulf partners of the US, as well as those of Israel. Air traffic was disrupted. High-value military targets like radars, etc., were also found to be vulnerable to drone attacks. Defence installations and critical energy, aviation and other infrastructure of the Gulf countries equipped with advanced US and Israeli weapons were found vulnerable to Iranian drone attacks, and most of them suffered heavy losses.

The Gulf countries sought Ukrainian help in countering Iranian drone attacks. Iran has so far destroyed 12 MQ-9B and 12 Hermes-900, Hermes-450 and Heron UAVs. Iran was able to leverage vulnerabilities to land/crash-land the Hermes-900 UAV of Israel with full weapon and sensor load. Iran has done a similar takeover of US drones in the past. Three F-15 fighter aircraft of the US were shot down by Kuwaiti F-18 fighters in friendly fire, highlighting gaps in Unmanned Traffic Management and airspace integration technologies.

Iranian drones provided Iran with a capability that no other technology could have granted it. Iran’s ability to achieve this stalemate comes from the following:

Iran’s single-minded approach to technology sovereignty.

Shahed and many other indigenously developed drones are now being imitated by the US and other countries.

The narrative that Iran was dependent on Western suppliers, too, does not seem to be proven, as Iran continues to launch thousands of drones without the disruption of suppliers.

The Iranian military played a key role in drone technology development, which took ownership and took the lead in the development of........

© IDSA