4 ms·

No, Russians are buying Iranian drones that are surprisingly capable. Also funny that Russians are so behind the times that they need to buy advanced military t

by ivalm 4y ago

No, Russians are buying Iranian drones that are surprisingly capable. Also funny that Russians are so behind the times that they need to buy advanced military tech from Iran. Edit: apparently Russians have advanced but uneconomical drones, Iran strikes a better balance!

unity1001 4y ago
That's not the case. Russian suicide drones seem to be WAY too advanced - it is said that they are so silent that you can't even hear them until they dive for the hit. From there comes the advantage of the Iranian drones - they make a lot of noise and you can hear them from miles away. But they are WAY cheaper. So you can just swarm the air defences using them. And if the enemy actually uses missiles to hit them, it evaluates to a result like the Iranian drone having shot down the more expensive defense missile because the drone is way cheaper. ... Iran defense industry just proved that in the current environment there is no need for drones to be that advanced like Russians' drones: The existing defense setups are SO unprepared and so behind in countering drone technology that you can just use simple, cheap drones to hit targets. And even more when you use swarms. Then again, that's good engineering. It means that Iranians well-engineered their drones according to the existing circumstances.
- ivalm 4y ago
  Ok, this is an interesting and nuanced post, thank you for the explanation, I edited my post!
- actionfromafar 4y ago
  I feel this has not shaken out properly yet. Obviously (to me) there is another yet-to-be-invented drone counter battery which is not yet invented. Probably smaller drones dive bombing onto the Iranian drones.
  - hef19898 4y ago
    Or it's time to break stuff like the Gepard out of mothballs: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flakpanzer_Gepard https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flakpanzer_Gepard https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2022/07/26/ukraines-gepard-anti-aircraft-tanks-have-arrived/?sh=28d5d22338af https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2022/07/26/ukraines-ge... Or build new, similar systems. Should cover it pretty well. Or use down graded versions of the various ship-mounted anti-missile systems. Drone vs. drone dog fights sound like fun. Thinking of it, didn't the Yakuza and Tokyo police have some of those?
- manquer 4y ago
  The design is also limited by sanctions on Iran to source advanced parts.
- proxysna 4y ago
  Russian "Куб-бла" drones are silent, yes, but also inaccurate and have a significantly smaller payload compared to Iranian Shahed's. Also, both can't be mass produced due to a multitude of reasons.
dragonwriter 4y ago
> No, Russians are buying Iranian drones that are surprisingly capable “Loitering munitions”, which sensationalist media refers to as “suicide drones”. Basically, slow, long-range, very-small-warhead prop-driven GPS-guided missiles. Not “drones” in the “reusable unmanned aerial vehicle” sense. > Also funny that Russians are so behind the times that they need to buy advanced military tech from Iran. These aren’t particularly advanced. They are pretty old tech with commercial GPS added for guidance. They have a pretty narrow niche, but its one that is particularly relevant to Russia’s current situation, especially given political constraints relating to Ukraine’s operations and the equipment they are being supplied with.

by ivalm 4y ago

unity1001 4y ago

That's not the case. Russian suicide drones seem to be WAY too advanced - it is said that they are so silent that you can't even hear them until they dive for the hit. From there comes the advantage of the Iranian drones - they make a lot of noise and you can hear them from miles away. But they are WAY cheaper. So you can just swarm the air defences using them. And if the enemy actually uses missiles to hit them, it evaluates to a result like the Iranian drone having shot down the more expensive defense missile because the drone is way cheaper. ... Iran defense industry just proved that in the current environment there is no need for drones to be that advanced like Russians' drones: The existing defense setups are SO unprepared and so behind in countering drone technology that you can just use simple, cheap drones to hit targets. And even more when you use swarms. Then again, that's good engineering. It means that Iranians well-engineered their drones according to the existing circumstances.

ivalm 4y ago
Ok, this is an interesting and nuanced post, thank you for the explanation, I edited my post!
actionfromafar 4y ago
I feel this has not shaken out properly yet. Obviously (to me) there is another yet-to-be-invented drone counter battery which is not yet invented. Probably smaller drones dive bombing onto the Iranian drones.
- hef19898 4y ago
  Or it's time to break stuff like the Gepard out of mothballs: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flakpanzer_Gepard https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flakpanzer_Gepard https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2022/07/26/ukraines-gepard-anti-aircraft-tanks-have-arrived/?sh=28d5d22338af https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2022/07/26/ukraines-ge... Or build new, similar systems. Should cover it pretty well. Or use down graded versions of the various ship-mounted anti-missile systems. Drone vs. drone dog fights sound like fun. Thinking of it, didn't the Yakuza and Tokyo police have some of those?
manquer 4y ago
The design is also limited by sanctions on Iran to source advanced parts.
proxysna 4y ago
Russian "Куб-бла" drones are silent, yes, but also inaccurate and have a significantly smaller payload compared to Iranian Shahed's. Also, both can't be mass produced due to a multitude of reasons.

dragonwriter 4y ago

> No, Russians are buying Iranian drones that are surprisingly capable “Loitering munitions”, which sensationalist media refers to as “suicide drones”. Basically, slow, long-range, very-small-warhead prop-driven GPS-guided missiles. Not “drones” in the “reusable unmanned aerial vehicle” sense. > Also funny that Russians are so behind the times that they need to buy advanced military tech from Iran. These aren’t particularly advanced. They are pretty old tech with commercial GPS added for guidance. They have a pretty narrow niche, but its one that is particularly relevant to Russia’s current situation, especially given political constraints relating to Ukraine’s operations and the equipment they are being supplied with.