Iran Training Russians to Use Drones Deadlier Than Shahed-136: Ukraine

Iran is reportedly helping to train Russian military forces to use a new type of drone that is deadlier than the Iranian-made Shahed-136, Ukraine said Thursday.

"According to preliminary information, the leadership of Iran and the Russian Federation agreed to send advisors and instructors to the territory of the Russian Federation for the use of impact BPLA," the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in an operational update.

"In particular, it is known about the preparation of operators already available bpla 'Shahed-136' and promising bpla 'Arash-2.'"

The update comes as Ukraine has repeatedly accused Russia of using the Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones. On Wednesday, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that it had shot down more than 200 Iranian-made drones in one month. Iran has continued to dispute reports that it is supplying drones to Russia.

On October 15, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) published a report on Russia's offensive campaign and discussed the Iranian-made Arash-2 drones.

"Ukrainian and Russian Telegram channels reported 'leaked' information from unspecified Iranian sources that Russia has purchased an unknown number of Arash-2 drones, which are purportedly faster and more destructive than the Shahed-136 drones that are currently in use by Russian forces," the report said.

According to the ISW, the commander of the Iranian ground forces, Brigadier General Kiomars Heydari, said earlier this year that the Arash-2 drones "have unique long-range capabilities and could target cities in Israel such as Tel Aviv and Haifa from bases in Iran."

The ISW report also said that while Russia will likely continue to use its relationship with Iran to "circumvent sanctions," it added that the Arash-2 drones are unlikely to have "any greater effect" than the Shahed-136.

Katherine Lawlor, a senior intelligence analyst at the ISW, told Newsweek on Thursday that the Shahed-136 and Arash-2 drones are somewhat similar in their capabilities but said their main differences are in range and payload size.

"The only reason it would be more effective than the Shahed-136 is if it can go substantially faster, if it can have some kind of steal capabilities. I don't have any evidence that that's the case but the Iranians have claimed that it is faster and larger," Lawlor said.

"Realistically, effectiveness is based on what you're trying to achieve and the Russians have demonstrated by their targeting that they're using drones to achieve a terror effect on Ukrainian civilians...not to achieve a dramatic change on the battlefield," Lawlor said.

"These aren't like HIMARS that really changed things for Ukraine, these aren't weapons that are gonna change the battlefield, they are weapons that are gonna kill more civilians or blow up more civilian infrastructure, perhaps."

Lawlor also said that if Iran continues to supply Russia with drones, it could result in further sanctions from Western nations, such as the U.S. on Iran.

Newsweek reached out to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Russia and Iran for comment.