China Reported to Have Placed Order for 15,000 UAVs from Iran, Deliveries Underway

[El Sidd]

Possibly bought for Russia........

Possibly (kamikaze drones)

There will be no formal confirmation if this is the case.

Probably for Ladakh and Taiwan.

Iran is an established arms exporter and a regional protector of perpetual conflicts.

 

[NagaBaba]

Would you have believed that Russia bought hundreds if not thousands of UAV's from Iran? You'd probably have reacted the same way as now, wouldn't you?

I only doubt because China has such a massive arms industry of its own. I know Russia have been supplied with some Ir equipment/drones.

 

[SalarHaqq]

I'd invite Chinese users not to take this as an affront to China's military and industrial capabilities, which I'm not oblivious to.

This being said, there will necessarily be a reason why an adviser to Iran's Intelligence Ministry - not your usual PR person, made this statement. And I have a feeling the intention was not merely to boost the image of Iranian drones through a piece of disinformation, which in this case could easily backfire. Also, it begs the question whether Iran really needs to resort to such tactics? After all in terms of publicity, it doesn't get any better than Russia successfully deploying Iranian drones in an actual conflict. So why publish fake news on the subject when it's not required and would likely be counter-productive?

The motivation of the source is anyone's guess. But many answers are possible. User Indos furnished an example, there are various other hypotheses (up to domestic political considerations pertaining to Iran). Given this, I believe the report was worthy of being shared and discussed, pending upcoming information. Maybe we'll find out in the future. For now potential eventualities can be explored. Note that I did not qualify the news as confirmed.

 

[Ali_Baba]

According to a senior adviser to Iran's Ministry of Intelligence speaking at a ceremony at Qazvin International University, China has ordered 15,000 Iranian UAV's, of which numerous examples have been delivered already.

The official added that some 90 countries have shown interest in acquiring Iranian-made drones.

"Since the day we turned to the East, the West could not bear it and an example was the war in Ukraine," he said.

۹٠ کشور در صف خرید پهبادهای ایرانی قرار دارند

مشاور عالی وزیر اطلاعات و رئیس موسسه اطلاعات و پژوهش‌های سیاسی وزارت اطلاعات گفت: امروز ۹۰ کشور مشتری و در صف خرید پهبادهای ایران اسلامی قرار دارند.

www.mashreghnews.ir

This will represent a great step forward in bilateral security cooperation.

Fake news!!!!

 

[retaxis]

I'd invite Chinese friends not to take this as an affront to China's military and industrial capabilities, since such is certainly not my intention nor am I oblivious to China's prowess.

This said, there will be a reason why an adviser to Iran's Intelligence Ministry - not your usual PR person, made this specific claim. And I have a feeling the intention was not merely to boost the image of Iranian drones through a piece of disinformation, which in this case could easily backfire. Also, it begs the question whether Iran really needs to resort to such tactics? After all in terms of publicity, it doesn't get any better than Russia successfully deploying Iranian drones in an actual conflict. So why publish a fake news on the subject when it's not required and would likely be counter-productive?

What the actual motivation of the source is, I do not know. But it could be many possible things. User Indos furnished a plausible example, there are various other hypotheses (up to domestic political considerations pertaining to Iran). Given this, I believe it was worthy of being shared and discussed, pending upcoming information. Maybe we'll find out in the future. For now we can explore potential eventualities. Note that I took care not to present the news as confirmed.

China has more money then they know what to do with and they are world leaders in drones/robotics/AI selling more than any other country. Cost isn't an issue and unless China is at war, they are not going to ask for anything from anyone unless they absolutely require it (such as jet engines in the past). The chances of China buying drones from Iran is like America buying tejas from India to replace F-22s. Just doesn't make sense in any scenario.

Personally I think Iran has better military program than Turkey even in UAV terms but China doesn't buy from anyone unless its in small numbers to support a program of an ally (e.g. first to buy 24 SU-35s to jumpstart the program so that dozen+ countries ended up buying it). China doesn't want to rely on anyone for anything and thats just the culture, especially in an area where china is very advanced in.

 

[doorstar]

Possibly (kamikaze drones)

is it this one?

https://avia.pro/sites/default/files/images/cont/img_6202.mp4

https://defence.pk/pdf/posts/13958296

 

[SalarHaqq]

is it this one?

https://avia.pro/sites/default/files/images/cont/img_6202.mp4

https://defence.pk/pdf/posts/13958296

Nope, this one:

آپارات - سرویس اشتراک ویدیو

www.aparat.com

It clearly states: 2 years ago as the upload date (same word in Urdu). That's 2021. OP in that thread was therefore demonstrably wrong.

As for the projectile impacts:

Those aren't UFO's from Mars, in case you wondered.

Here's another one, enjoy:

https://imgur.com/a/rCTnGZX

 

[aryobarzan]

I myself can not understand the reasons but the report is in official Iranian news paper and no one has refuted the report YET

مشاور عالی وزیر اطلاعان با بیان اینکه ۱۵ هزار پهباد در صف خرید چین قرار دارد و تاکنون نیر بسیاری از این پهبادها تحویل این کشور شده، بیان کرد: ۹۰ کشور امروز مشتری و در صف خرید پهبادهای ایران اسلامی قرار دارند.

Senior aid to the Intelligence minister said that 15000 drones are in the sale channels to China and up to this day many have been delivered to this country. Today 90 countries are customers and in line for the purchase of Islamic Iran drones.

Note: I just did the translation and not responsible for the content

 

[Azadkashmir]

maybe china buying it as gud will gesture. naturally the chinese buy one reverse it and make copies it and sells it at lower rate. the chinese probably comes with free delivery and a free srewdriver and a spanner.

 

[aryobarzan]

maybe china buying it as gud will gesture. naturally the chinese buy one reverse it and make copies it and sells it at lower rate. the chinese probably comes with free delivery and a free srewdriver and a spanner.

If and big if..news is true..my explanation..China buying and reselling them to countries that afraid of buying direct from Iran..making good profit..something like what they do with Iranian and Russian discounted oil..

 

[SalarHaqq]

If and big if..news is true..my explanation..China buying and reselling them to countries that afraid of buying direct from Iran..making good profit..something like what they do with Iranian and Russian discounted oil..

This is another potential theory. Like I said, it could have possible explanations outside the hypothesis of deliberate fake news, without contradicting known facts about China's military and economical power.

 

[Beast]

Elaborate please.

Although the statement's unverified for now, prior to the unveiling of Iranian drones in Russian service most people would have laughed off the notion that Moscow would ever purchase a consequent amount of UAV's from Iran.

China is certainly ahead of Russia in this area and has probably been fielding a significantly larger fleet of drones, however the pretty unique cost effectiveness of Iranian-made weaponry (not least because of the current exchange rate of the Rial) makes it a potentially attractive procurement including for advanced nations which produce their own equivalents. The comparative advantage would lie in the sheer numbers of relatively simple yet functional items Iran could supply for a given price tag, as an expendable complement to existing domestically-manufactured arsenals, to be used in niche roles in case of a conflict.

So I for one wouldn't completely discount the possibility as of yet.

China is not Russia. Russia is well know to be weak in drone. China is different. It dominate military and civilian drone in world sales. China drone not only is cheaper but more capable than anything Iran can throw at it.

If and big if..news is true..my explanation..China buying and reselling them to countries that afraid of buying direct from Iran..making good profit..something like what they do with Iranian and Russian discounted oil..

China already state it will not sell arms to Russia during the Ukraine war. How does China buying from Iran and export to Russia do away with this ban restrictions?

 

[aryobarzan]

China is not Russia. Russia is well know to be weak in drone. China is different. It dominate military and civilian drone in world sales. China drone not only is cheaper but more capable than anything Iran can throw at it.


China already state it will not sell arms to Russia during the Ukraine war. How does China buying from Iran and export to Russia do away with this ban restrictions?

You need to read my sentence one more time..

 

[SalarHaqq]

China is not Russia. Russia is well know to be weak in drone. China is different. It dominate military and civilian drone in world sales. China drone not only is cheaper but more capable than anything Iran can throw at it.

Military procurement does not exclusively consist of high capability, technologically elaborate weaponry. Parallel to the general pursuit of conventional parity, China's own defence strategy against the USA continues to feature some asymmetrical aspects as far as I know. A sound approach it would be, considering the feeble cost-efficiency of weapons systems made by NATO members.

In terms of prices, the Iranian Rial has kept losing value. This created some export opportunities and probably explains in part why Iran could outrank competitors to become Afghanistan's leading source of imports for several consecutive years.

Production cost of a Shahed-139 kamikaze drone is estimated at around 20,000 USD. Discount price of under 40,000 USD if not under 35,000 USD on a massive order may not be outside the realm of possibility.

The previously cited example of the gas turbine an Iranian company is offering for under 2 million USD (export price) - less than ten times its German equivalent, could be pondered as well.

If figures are known and could be cited here for similar items manufactured in China, it could form the basis for a tentative comparison.

The argument put forth by user retaxis, that due to its financial affluence and the culture of non-reliance on outside sources China would disregard a hypothetical price difference on defence products, is of course a different one which would render the above considerations moot.

 

[mohsen]

Nowadays fake news are rampant.

It's a quote from an Iranian official inside semi official news agencies. so if you think it's fake, you should ask China's officials to deny it.