Some time ago, after the first batch of 1,000 drones arrived in Russia, these cutting-edge equipments made by Iran immediately showed great combat effectiveness, rewriting the original unilateral killing pattern of Ukrainian drones. Not only does it pose a deadly threat to armored vehicles in conventional operations, but also the Shahid-136 has become the main force in the Russian retaliatory bombing of Kyiv. The cruise missile mode can always find the best target to start with.
The battlefield performance of the Iranian drones is very good. The Russian army likes it very much. As the battlefield continues to wear out, the second batch of more advanced suicide drones has also arrived in Moscow. This time russians has bought the “Arash”-2 (Arash) suicide drone, which was transported to Moscow by the Iranian Air Force Il-76 transport aircraft on the 15th. Compared with the Shaheed-136 drone it is a large suicide drone , “Alash” is larger and faster, it is likely to become the nightmare of the Ukrainian killer “HIMARS”.
As a superpower left over from the Cold War, Russia has everything from strategic nuclear weapons, strategic bombers, and strategic nuclear submarines. Its overall strength ranks among the top three in the world, but in the field of drones, it is seriously unequal to national strength. Whether it’s a strategic mistake or a weak economy, anyway, Russia has not kept up with the trend of drone development. In the Russian-Ukrainian war, it was pressed and beaten by Ukrainian drones, including front-line command posts, logistical supply warehouses, and even senior commanders were attacked accurately by the Ukrainian Army.
On October 7, Ukrainian drones even penetrated 200 kilometers into Russia and bombed the Shaykovka Air Force Base in Kaluga, Russia. Reports says their target was to destroy two Tu-22MS strategic bombers. This place is 200 kilometers away from Ukraine and only 170 kilometers away from Moscow. It is the station of the 52nd Guards Heavy Bomber Regiment of the Russian Aerospace Forces. This shows how strong Ukraine is in the application of UAVs (a lot of Western aid), and the Russian air defense force are also very weak.
In addition to drones, Ukraine’s most lethal equipment at present is “HIMARS”. Although the number of arrivals is only 16 sets, it has driven the Russian army crazy on the battlefield. Due to the high mobility, the launch preparation time is very short, although the United States does not want to annoy Russia by limiting the range to 70 kilometers, but the “HIMARS” has been active behind the Ukrainian front to fight. Because it takes only a few minutes from entering the position to the time when the rockets are fired and left, it is too difficult for the Russian army to quickly find their position after being attacked and mobilize firepower to destroy and suppress them. .
It is not to say how amazing the “HIMARS” is. It belongs to the same kind of product as the Russian-made “Tornado” rocket launcher, giving it powerful combat effectiveness. In addition to supporting high-precision guided munitions, it also has real-time intelligence support provided by NATO. Due to the real-time sharing of intelligence provided by the United States and NATO, the deployment and mobilization of the Russian army’s front-line troops are under monitoring, so the tactical-level weapons such as “HIMARS” actually played a quasi-strategic effect. Every time “HIMARS” can always dump precision-guided munitions on the Russian army at a predetermined time, and then run away without giving the Russian army a chance to fight back. Ukrainian intelligence can be reflected from each drone follow-up and that is very much accurate.
Since, Russian own drone technology is not good, it began to import it from Iran, and Iran, which started by imitating the US drone technology. From the current point of view, it stands out in the field of drones, with complex and extensive technology sources, and many and advanced product models have directly entered the world-class level. The Shahed-136 drone was provided last time, which is similar to the Israeli “Harpy” suicide drone. It is 3.5 meters long, has a wingspan of 2.5 meters, weighs about 200 kilograms, and has a range of more than 1,600 kilometers.
From the current point of view, the Ukrainian Southern Command, as well as various targets such as arsenals and power plants, have been bombed, which has had a great deterrent effect on the Ukrainian side. For example, just one week after it was put into use in September, the attack on the Ukrainian army in Kharkov destroyed 2 2S3 self-propelled howitzers, 2 2S1 self-propelled howitzers, and 2 BTR wheeled armored vehicles. Even a few days ago, there was an accident that the Ukrainian MiG-29 intercepted the Shahed-136 and was shot down by flying debris.
The newly introduced batch of “Arash”-2 (Arash) suicide drones was officially equipped and entered into service in September this year. It is said that it adopts inertial navigation and GPS guidance, and has a range of up to 2,000 kilometers. It mainly performs long-distance hunting missions. The round fuselage is aerodynamically streamlined and is a slender cone with a swept back main wing belt for faster flight. It can be carried on a vehicle or on a ship, and is launched through orbit by a rocket booster. After gaining enough power, the rocket will be discarded and then driven forward by the engine at the rear of the fuselage.
Although the specific performance is unclear, it is definitely much more stronger than the Shaheed-136, in the context of obtaining Iranian-made drones in batches. The suicide drones flying all over the sky can gain more air control for the Russian army, in addition to long-range attacks on deep targets in Ukraine to maintain firepower continuity. It can also suppress the “HIMARS” rocket launcher. In the past, due to the lack of drones, it was very passive. Now the Iranian-made drones flying all over the sky can play a greater role.