Drone components link Iran to attacks in eight countries
Iran has been exporting drone technology to Yemen’s Houthi rebels for the last decade – and similar components may link the Islamic Republic to drone attacks in eight countries. A report by Conflict Armament Research released Wednesday provided a rare window into the extent of the Houthi’s use of drones and how the group revolutionized Iran’s drones. It also helped map out a much wider pattern of drone components used from Sudan to Afghanistan.
The US also revealed new details on a shipment of Iranian weapons seized last November. The details appear to link Iran directly to the attack on Saudi Arabia in September.
Let’s begin in Yemen where the Houthi rebels have revolutionized drone warfare, using them against a Saudi-backed alliance. They’ve crashed them into radars and air defense technology, and attacked airports, military parades and infrastructure. CAR research has previously concluded that “the Qasef-1 UAV is not of indigenous design and construction, but rather manufactured in Iran and supplied in batches to Houthi forces in Yemen.”
In 2019, the Houthis showed off a number of drones, or UAVs, that they had been using. At least eight were being made and used. This included the
Hudhed-1, Raqib, Rased, and Saamad 1, as well as the Qasef-1, Qasef 2k, Sammad 2 and Sammad 3. The first four are reconnaissance drones. The Houthis had taken the Iranian Ababil-T drone and turned it into the Qasef-1. Although relatively poor, they were able to produce sophisticated drones. CAR concluded that the markings on electronic components point to “industrial production and quality control processes. Some internal components match those found in Iranian-made UAVs.”
Yet the Houthis acquired very complex technology. The Sammad drone that appeared in 2018 eventually reached a range of up to 1,500 km. “The Sammad has the same exterior cast and print color as the imported Qasef-1,” the report says.
UAE forces captured one of the drones in June 2018. The components look like those in a Qasef-1. But how do the Sammad engines reach Yemen? The study said they came from a German company, perhaps via Greece. This would have been an illegal export, although the report makes it clear that the discovery of the German-made engines in Yemeni drones does not mean that the original manufacturer is responsible.
The research shows that some components originated in Iran or are identical to those found in the Jihan 1 merchant vessel. The Jihan 1 was stopped off Yemen in 2013. Components also had similarities to “Bahraini forces captured from militant factions in Bahrain.” Jonah Leff was quoted by the Associated Press as saying that the gyroscope in the drones that have been found pointed to Tehran. “We’ve seen it now enough times in Iranian-manufactured material to be able to confidently say that the presence of it in Houthi-produced items suggests that the material was supplied from Iran.”
A map CAR produced shows components spread across the region where these drones have been shot down or crashed. In 2012 an Iranian Ababil-3 was downed in Sudan’s South
Kordofan. A similar gyroscope was found in an Ababil-3 in Iraq provided to an Iranian-backed group. Other components were found in Bahrain as well as in a Shahed-141 UAV downed in Israel in February 2018. That drone had flown from Syria.
In Yemen and Saudi Arabia, numerous drones and components have been documented. This means that Bahrain, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Israel, Iraq, Syria and even Afghanistan have been targeted by these Iranian-linked drones or by groups using components linked to them. In Afghanistan, for instance, a V9 gyroscope was found on a Shahed-123 drone that was downed in Afghanistan
in a 2016 crash.
A cruise missile was also found by the US Navy in a raid last November. It was reportedly linked by having similar components. US CENTCOM says the ship stopped by the USS Normandy and USS Forrest Sherman was involved in Iranian weapon smuggling. The US found Russian Kornet anti-tank missiles and Iranian designed 358 surface-to-air missiles.
The big find in the November incident was “sections of the 351 cruise missile” that Washington says was consistent with the attack on Saudi Aramco facilities last September. The equipment here links Iran directly to the Houthi drones via such components as gyroscopes.
The full range of details about Iran’s drone program has yet to be revealed, partly because many studies only see a piece of the Iranian drone elephant. Nevertheless, the recent reports from CAR, CENTCOM and others paint a picture of an Iranian drone program that has increasingly affected the Middle East and which Houthis have perfected in their conflict with the Saudi-led coalition. Iran’s attacks, such as in Saudi Arabia in September 2019, are becoming more sophisticated using this technology. However, the lack of some components may make Iran husband these resources as it faces sanctions and other challenges.