Iran has developed a new attack drone, the Shahed-107, for Russia in its war against Ukraine and is close to providing Moscow with surface-to-surface missiles, Sky News reported on Wednesday, citing an informed security source.
The Shahed-107 is an “explosive and reconnaissance” UAV with the technology to seek out high-value battlefield targets, such as British and American multiple-launch rocket systems used by Ukrainian forces.
Iran has reportedly sold “a few units” to Russia in a deal that is estimated to be worth more than $2 million.
Tehran has been accused by Ukraine and its allies of supplying Russia with one-way attack drones, including the Shahed-131 and Shahed-136, referred to as “suicide drones” because they fly into targets and explode on impact.
In its war against Ukraine, Russia has used drone and missile strikes in combination to penetrate Ukraine’s air defenses in increasingly intensifying waves of deadly attacks against civilian and military targets across the country, Sky News noted.
This new drone is from the Shahed-101 family of UAVs that all have a distinctive V-shaped tail.
The UAV is two and a half meters long, with a wingspan of three meters, has a range of up to 1,500 km (932 miles), and can be launched from vehicles.
According to the informed security source, the UAV is fitted with a live streaming transmitter for transmitting video, providing it with the capability to identify targets on Ukraine’s frontline for other UAVs or weapons systems to strike.
The Russian defense ministry has not responded to a request for comment. Iran’s president denied his country had sent any weaponry or drones to Russia for use in Ukraine in September, saying on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, “We are against the war in Ukraine.”
However, an arms contract that provided the first hard evidence that Iran had sold ammunition to Russia for its war effort was revealed by Sky News last year.
Iran’s warfare technology is rapidly advancing
Ukrainian officials have stated their concerns over the development of this new drone. A Ukrainian source said that Russia is constantly modernizing Iranian drones, which forces Ukraine to use more expensive air defense systems.
The Ukrainian source says that Russia is now able to assemble the Iranian Shahed-126 system on its own at a facility 500 miles east of Moscow. “The manufacturing capacity by September 2025 should be around 4,000 pieces per year,” the source claimed.
In addition to its drone development, Iran is reportedly close to providing ballistic missiles to Russia, with even more lethal capabilities than the drones. These missiles would have a range longer than 300km (186 miles).
These ballistic missiles could accurately hit targets in all of Ukraine and can only be intercepted by Ukraine’s limited supply of US-provided Patriot air defense missiles that have a limited range, Sky News reported.
These ballistic missiles have the potential to cause significant damage across Ukraine.
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