Iran’s efforts to boost Russia’s domestic drone production have deepened diplomatic ties between two key rivals of the U.S. and given Moscow a leg up in its war on Ukraine, a Washington-based think tank says in a new report.
The think tank C4ADS said Thursday that Tehran’s work in widening the production of the Iran-designed Shahed-136 in Russia has improved Moscow’s unmanned aerial vehicle production capacity and allowed them to consistently pummel Ukraine with drone swarms.
C4ADS’ report, citing leaked records, says that the Iranian company Sahara Thunder, which builds the Shahed drone, worked in extensive collaboration with Russian defense manufacturer Alabuga JSC to supply the Russian military with Iranian-made drones in the early stages of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The collaboration, the researchers say, allowed Moscow to rely on drone imports in the early years of the war, while working on its own, advanced version of the drone, dubbed the Geran-2, and improve its domestic production capacity.
“The switch from UAV imports to localized UAV manufacturing has played a significant role in supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine,” the report reads. ” By indigenizing UAV production, Russia has been able to quickly maintain and expand its long-range strike capability. To accommodate shifting mission requirements, Russia can allocate additional resources to produce or modify the Geran-2 without additional Iranian support.”
The companies involved have extensive ties to their states, giving both nations suitable cover in their efforts to bolster drone production, the report notes. Still Alabuga JSC and Sahara Thunder relied on intermediaries from the United Arab Emirates to provide additional cover for their activities.
“The UAE provides numerous advantages to Iranian and Russian companies conducting business. The UAE allows Free Zone Establishments (FZEs) like Generation Trading FZE to have 100% foreign ownership, tax exemptions, the ability to freely repatriate profits and capital, and limited liability for the capital shareholders invested in the company,” the report reads. “These characteristics allow sanctioned entities in Iran and Russia to access otherwise-blocked infrastructure for communications, transport, and finance.”
Sahara Thunder was identified by the U.S. as a front for the Iranian military in April 2024 and was slapped with sanctions for facilitating the delivery of drones to Russia for use in Ukraine.
The report suggests that sanctions have not done enough to curb Russia or Iran’s drone production and may have driven the U.S. rivals together.
“Sahara Thunder and Alabuga JSC are now both sanctioned and widely recognized for their role in UAV production. However, Russian-Iranian cooperation on UAVs and in other realms will likely continue,” the report says. “Only by understanding and adapting to these tactics can global stakeholders disrupt similar entities, impacting the frontlines of today and the battlefields of tomorrow.”
Throughout the partnership, Russia has been able to greatly increase its production of deadly UAVs, particularly in its Tatarstan region. The increased production capacity has enabled Russia to strike relentlessly at targets in Ukraine.
Drone strikes in Ukraine have gone up significantly this year, as diplomats from the U.S. scramble for a peace deal to end the conflict. According to some estimates, Kyiv has been hit by more than 100 drones per day on average in May. Additionally, Russia launched more than 350 drones at Ukraine over the weekend, marking the largest single-day air offensive of the conflict.
The prominence of drones in the Russia-Ukraine conflict has led Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to sound the alarm.
Earlier this week, Mr. Zelenskyy asserted that Russia can manufacture more than 300 drones daily, compared to Ukraine’s 100 per day. He has called on Ukraine’s allies to invest further in his nation’s defense industry to improve its long-range strike capabilities.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.