WASHINGTON (Dispatches) -- Russia has inflicted serious damage on Ukrainian forces with recently introduced Iranian drones, in its first wide-scale deployment of a foreign weapons system since the war began, the Wall Street Journal has reported, citing Ukrainian commanders.
Over the past week, Shahed-136 delta-wing drones, repainted in Russian colors and rebranded as Geranium 2, started appearing over Ukrainian armor and artillery positions in the northeastern Kharkiv region, Col. Rodion Kulagin, commander of artillery of Ukraine’s 92nd Mechanized Brigade, told the paper.
In his brigade’s operational area alone, the Iranian drones—which usually fly in pairs and then slam into their targets—have destroyed two 152-mm self-propelled howitzers, two 122-mm self-propelled howitzers, as well as two BTR armored infantry vehicles, he said.
Before the current wide-scale use of the Shaheds, Russia carried out a test last month, striking a U.S.-supplied M777 155-mm towed howitzer with the drone, Col. Kulagin said.
So far, the Iranian drones seem to have been mostly deployed in the Kharkiv region.
“In other areas, the Russians have overwhelming artillery firepower, and they manage with that. Here, they no longer have that artillery advantage, and so they have started to resort to these drones,” Col. Kulagin said.
Scott Crino, founder and chief executive of Red Six Solutions LLC, a strategic consulting firm, said the Shahed-136 could provide Russia with a “potent counterweight” to the high-tech weapons systems, such as Himars missile launchers, that the U.S. has provided to Ukraine.
“The presence of Shahed-136 in Ukraine war is undoubtedly changing the operational plans of Kyiv,” he said. “The sheer size of Ukraine battlefield makes it hard to defend against the Shahed-136.”
Crino said the Shahed-136 can be used with great effect with one targeting a radar system and the second one hitting artillery pieces. Iran also has antijamming systems that can make it hard for Ukrainian forces to counter, he said. “Once a Shahed locks onto target, it will be hard to stop,” he said.
The British Ministry of Defense, in its intelligence update on Sept. 14, also said it was highly likely that Russia had deployed Iranian drones in Ukraine for the first time. Noting that the Shahed-136 has a claimed range of 2,500 kilometers, it added that so far, it appears that Moscow is using these drones for tactical strikes near front lines rather than to destroy more strategic targets deep into Ukrainian territory.
The Iranian drones are relatively small and fly at a very low altitude, making it hard for Ukrainian air-defense systems to detect them, Col. Kulagin said.
Drones of different kinds play an important role in the Ukrainian conflict, in part because neither side has air superiority and is, therefore, reluctant to use manned aircraft over enemy positions. Hundreds of military and commercial reconnaissance drones hover in the air daily along the front lines, spotting targets and guiding artillery fire.
Both Russia and Ukraine also use what are known as kamikaze drones, or loitering munitions. Russia’s Kalashnikov Group has developed a homemade drone known as Kub-Bla, while Ukraine is flying Polish-made Warmate and U.S.-supplied Switchblade drones, as well as some locally-made UAVs. These munitions have a much shorter range and flying time than the Iranian-developed Shahed drones, and carry a significantly smaller payload.
Iran has emerged as one of the world’s most resourceful developers of combat drones, in part by reverse-engineering American drones that went astray over the past two decades in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Wall Street Journal wrote.