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The Russian military is already having bad luck with the drones it received from Iran, which quickly began to suffer several breakdowns less than a month after the first batch arrived.
“There are some bugs in the system,” a Western security official told the Washington Post about drones on Tuesday, according to a report. “The Russians are not satisfied”.
Russia received dozens of Iranian-made drones on Aug.19, its first batch in what U.S. officials believe should be several hundred that Iran is planning to supply to the Russian military.
But less than a month after receiving the first batch, Russian forces report technical difficulties and malfunctions with drones.
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Russian officials reportedly visited Iran twice in the past month to see the drones that were supposed to be supplied to Russia, though it’s unclear if the plane was a gift from Iran or if the Russians were paying for it. ‘equipment.
According to a Reuters report, the drones are from the Shahed series and Mohajer-6 models produced in Iran, and a US administration official told the outlet that the drones have suffered “numerous failures”.
Russia has been slow to adopt drone technology in recent years, a fact compounded by US and Western sanctions that have crippled the country’s ability to purchase the kind of technology it needs to advance its drone program. Faced with fierce resistance from Ukrainian forces, Iran stepped forward and agreed to provide Russia with unmanned aircraft capable of carrying weapons.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces have been able to use their drone program successfully since the start of the conflict, although Russian forces have become more advanced in blocking or shooting down drones in recent months.
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The Iranian drone shipment comes at the same time as the US has redoubled its efforts to fund the Ukrainian war effort, announcing a nearly $ 3 billion aid package last week.
“The United States of America is committed to supporting the Ukrainian people as the struggle to defend their sovereignty continues,” President Biden said in a statement last week.