“The Russian UAV is lagging behind that of the rest of the world, for reasons related to their air force’s negative view of unmanned aircraft - an attitude that was prevalent in Western air forces too until about a quarter a century ago,” Uzi Rubin, a defence engineer and analyst of missile systems in the Middle East, told The New Arab. Moreover, their own domestic production cannot keep up with ever-growing demand, especially given Russia’s limited capacity for producing armed UAVs.

Moscow especially lacks armed drones, such as the Turkish Bayraktar TB2, which has been employed successfully by Ukraine’s military. Russian forces have been losing drones in large quantities during its invasion of Ukraine, according to media reports, and are turning to foreign and regional partners for replacements. 'The Russian ability to quickly supply their forces with an adequate number of UAVs of the quality and quantity needed for the Ukraine war is limited'

Sullivan said that Russian delegations had also visited an airfield in central Iran at least twice, where Iranian officials showcased their drones. National security adviser Jake Sullivan said it was 'unclear' whether Iran had delivered them yet but that Tehran was preparing to train Russian forces to use them.Īlthough Russian, as well as Iranian officials, denied that the issue of combat drones was discussed during Vladimir Putin’s recent visit to Tehran, US officials maintain that such plans exist.

In early July, the White House said it believed that Russia was turning to Iran to acquire “hundreds” of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including weaponised drones.

Duelling nexus