Iranian media lifts veil on Iran’s kamikaze drone program

Iranian pro-government Tasnim News published an important and long article on February 6 detailing the history and extent of Iran’s kamikaze drone program. These are known as “one-way” attack drones, and Iran’s own media notes that they are sometimes called “suicide” drones. The essence of these drones is that the drone itself is a warhead, so it flies into a target like a cruise missile. Iran has been in the spotlight for exporting these dangerous weapons to Russia, the Houthis, Hezbollah, and militias in Iraq and Syria.

The Iranian drone program goes back many decades. It has often tried to copy US and Israeli models of drones or UAVs. In the past, Iran used these systems for surveillance. It also tried to arm them, similar to how the US armed the Predator drone with missiles. However, Iran has now shifted resources to invest in a long line of kamikaze drones because they are easy to build and export and because they can project Iran’s power for thousands of miles around the region. In essence, this is an instant air force. Iran is seeking to replicate what the Soviets did with the AK-47 by plowing resources into a weapon system that can be easily exported or replicated abroad.

The extent of the program

The article at Tasnim is interesting because it sheds some light on the extent of this program. It says that Iran’s defense industry has invested in numerous types of drones. It says they can often be hard to spot on radar, and the article praises them for their accomplishments. The article details past drone types of this kamikaze model, including the Chamran and Saegh, the Ababil line of drones that were provided in large numbers to the Iranian navy, as well as the Kian, Karar, Arash, Sayad, Miraj, and the new Sina and Bavar. The Sina is an attempt to copy the US switchblade. READ MORE