Iran to supply Russia with “hundreds” of Drones

[BlessedKingOfLonging]

Sometimes you might not need to be so stealthily, really just depends on the operation you intend to do.

I'd rather had more ordinance carried on this UAV for a sortie if I was bombing a militant group, then prioritize stealth for example.

Yes, even F-22s and F-35s have options to mount ordnance on hardpoints for missions where stealth is not a priority.

 

[Stryker1982]

More news by AP and Washington post, but as usual actual evidence is completely missing, and "hundreds of drones" would yield a major footprint.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1562911482408730629

 

[Stryker1982]

More news by AP and Washington post, but as usual actual evidence is completely missing, and "hundreds of drones" would yield a major footprint.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1562911482408730629

As part of the Ukraine weapons package sent by the USA to Ukraine, include Vampire counter-UAS systems.

 

[DF41]

More news by AP and Washington post, but as usual actual evidence is completely missing, and "hundreds of drones" would yield a major footprint.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1562911482408730629

Isnt that typical of the perverted morals of Murica and the brown nose doggies of Murica?

Murica and his curs supplying weapons and bombs to Ukraine over the last 10 years for Ukraine Nazis to kill and injure Russian speakers and now denying anyone the right to send arms to support Russia in the righteous de nazifications and de militarisations.

Look at the way Murica perverted the Middle East.

Sending planes and bombs and bullets to Israel so that Israel and kill with impunity like Nazis and steal and rob the houses and land from Palestinians

And Murica stopping other decent minded countries from sending arms and missiles and shells to Palestinians to defend against Israel atrocities

 

[Yongpeng Sun-Tastaufen]

What do you make of this?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1564372773367169029

https://twitter.com/x/status/1564371632508080131

 

[Stryker1982]

What do you make of this?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1564372773367169029

https://twitter.com/x/status/1564371632508080131

Not a whole lot to say, alot of speculation frankly.

We have not even seen any display that these UAVs are even in Russia hands. Still waiting on that before listening to an anonymous source. They say, they have malfunctioned but seeing no wreckage pictures.

Assuming transfers are real, I don't know, I think time will tell what happens. The EW in the region is heavy, so I can see some problems dealing with it, but in such cases if line of communication is cut, the UAV would return to launch point. If Ukrainians can capture one intact, that would be a huge propoganda win.

Also I am a bit dubious about these initial findings, such as, if the Russians had trouble with the UAVs due to bugs, why would they move forward with the purchase? They've had plenty of time to test and play around with it? It's bugged but they bought it anyways? Time will reveal if their are deep flaws or if this is just a propoganda campaign ramping up due to the anger by western nations about this alleged transfer. They do not want to demoralize them. I think we should give it time.

 

[NaCon]

NATIONAL SECURITY
Iran sends first shipment of drones to Russia for use in Ukraine
Russian cargo planes left Tehran 10 days ago with UAVs, some of which have already malfunctioned, U.S. and allied officials say

By Ellen Nakashima and Joby Warrick
August 29, 2022 at 5:31 p.m. EDT

A drone is launched during military drills in this photo released by the Iranian army on Aug. 25, 2022. (Iranian army/AP)

Russian cargo planes have quietly picked up the first of scores of Iranian-made combat drones for use against Ukraine, U.S. officials said, in a move that underscores deepening ties between Moscow and Tehran while also highlighting Russia’s struggles to supply its overstretched military.
Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russia's war in Ukraine.

Transport planes departed Iran on Aug. 19 hauling at least two types of unmanned aerial vehicles, both capable of carrying munitions for attacks on radars, artillery and other military targets, according to intelligence gathered by U.S. and other spy agencies.
But while the weapons could provide a significant boost for Russia’s war effort against Ukraine, the transfer has been marred by technical problems, security officials from the United States and an allied government said in interviews. In early tests by the Russians, the Iranian drones experienced numerous failures, the officials said.
“There are a few bugs in the system,” said an allied security official whose government closely monitored the transfer. The official agreed to discuss sensitive intelligence on the condition that his identity and nationality not be revealed. “The Russians are not satisfied,” the official said.
Russian drones are filled with Western electronics, experts say
The initial delivery of the Mohajer-6 and Shahed-series drones to Moscow is believed to be the first installment of a planned transfer of hundreds of Iranian UAVs of various types, Biden administration officials said, also speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity.
The Iranian drones could help fill a crucial gap in Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine. Russia, which has 1,500 to 2,000 military surveillance UAVs, has relatively few attack drones of the type that can deliver precision strikes against targets deep inside enemy territory. Ukraine, by contrast, has used Turkish-made combat UAVs to wreak havoc on Russian armor, trucks and artillery since the early weeks of the conflict.
The Biden administration warned in July that Russia was preparing to acquire large numbers of Iranian drones to conduct air-to-surface attacks, electronic warfare and targeting on the battlefield in Ukraine.
Washington Post columnist David Ignatius reported last week that Iran had begun delivering the drones. But details of the transfer, including the types of UAVs provided and their purportedly lackluster performance so far, have not been previously reported.
In interviews, the U.S. and allied security officials said Russian planes flew to an Iranian military facility to pick up the drones over several days in mid-August. The allied security official said the initial shipment included two models of Shahed drones, the Shahed-129 and Shahed-191, as well as the Mohajer-6. All are considered to be among Iran’s top-of-the-line military drones, designed for attacks as well as surveillance.
The deal was negotiated over several months by a team led by Brig. Gen. Seyed Hojjatollah Qureishi, the chief of the supply and logistics division of Iran’s Defense Ministry, and Russia’s military attache in Tehran, the security official said. Under the arrangement, Iranian technical experts traveled to Russia to help set up the systems, and Russian military officers underwent training in Iran, the official said.
US threatens Russia with technology sanctions over Ukraine
Iranian officials had responded obliquely to U.S. claims about the pending drone delivery. Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani last month acknowledged “Iranian and Russian technological cooperation” but said Tehran prefers a diplomatic settlement to the Ukraine conflict. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, asked last month about the reported deal to acquire Iranian UAVs, said the Russian presidency had “no comments on this matter.”
While Iran has supplied military drones to armed proxy groups such as Yemen’s Houthi rebels, it has rarely, if ever, tested such models against the kinds of sophisticated electronic jamming and antiaircraft systems used in Ukraine, said Michael Knights, a military and security expert with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Iran has demonstrated an ability to launch “swarm” drone attacks — involving multiple suicide drones massed against a single target — and Western governments will be watching closely to see whether Iran’s UAVs can carry out such operations on an intensely contested battlefield, Knights said.
“These Iranian drones have not operated in a sophisticated air-defense environment before,” Knights said. “The closest they’ve come to that is with [Houthi strikes against] Saudi Arabia or against U.S. bases in Iraq, and they have generally not done well. So I wouldn’t be surprised that, in a more intense environment like Ukraine, that they would have some problems.”
For Russia, the Ukraine conflict has exposed the country’s failure to develop a line of combat drones similar to ones used by the United States for two decades, experts say. “They understand that they needed those drones yesterday in large quantities,” said Sam Bendett, a Russian-military analyst at the Virginia-based research group CNA.
And Russia has really only two countries to which it can turn to “plug the capability gap” in combat drones: China and Iran. But China is deeply enmeshed in the global supply chain and does not want to supply combat UAVs because that would probably invite U.S. sanctions, he said.
That leaves Iran, which is not exposed in the same way and whose capability is homegrown, “which is what the Russians are going for,” Bendett said. “Iran is also a Russian ally. So it’s the only real choice left. Iran represents a very interesting case of having a domestic industry that grew up amid sanctions. And it represents a fairly robust capability.”
The United States began in June to supply Ukraine with the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, commonly known as HIMARS, which can launch multiple rockets with precision at Russian military targets from nearly 50 miles away. The use of HIMARS has enabled Ukraine to destroy Russian ammunition depots and logistics supplies far behind the front lines.
“The Russians have no way to limit the damage HIMARS are inflicting on them now,” said Dmitri Alperovitch, chairman of Silverado Policy Accelerator, a Washington-based think tank. “They hope attack drones can help.”
Other NATO-provided long-range artillery, such as M777 howitzers capable of launching precision-guided rounds, also has added to Russia’s challenge, said Rob A. Lee, a Russia military expert and a senior fellow with the Foreign Policy Research Institute.
In militants' hands, Iranian drones emerge as a deadly new wild card
“One of Russia’s biggest problems right now is its air force can’t interdict things behind Ukrainian lines,” Lee said. “They don’t have many long-range UAVs that can strike targets behind enemy lines. So they can’t prevent Ukraine from reinforcing its positions and restocking supplies … And a lot of their UAVs are getting shot down or lost to electronic warfare.”
While Russia is apparently seeking to ramp up domestic production of such drones, it is hampered by Western sanctions and export controls, which have stanched the flow of semiconductor chips essential to producing such weapons, analysts said.
“They’re relying on the black market, but the needs are vast,” Alperovitch said. “You need chips for everything from precision-guided missiles to aircraft to tanks, not to mention nonmilitary items in their own domestic industries. So there’s lots of demand in Russia for chips, and if Russia can procure fully made drones from Iran, it doesn’t need to use its precious supply of black market chips to make its own drones.”
Analysts said the transfer of drones is unlikely to affect the ongoing nuclear talks between Iran and world powers, which are proceeding on a separate track and aimed a different objective: eliminating Iran’s capacity for quickly making a nuclear bomb. But the further cementing of military ties between Iran and Russia is a worrisome development for the United States and its allies, experts said.
“The ever-closer alliance does give Russia some military procurement depth, which will be welcome in Moscow,” said Clifford Kupchan, chairman of the Eurasia Group. “The bigger message — which may be lost on [Russian President Vladimir] Putin for now — is that one of the world’s allegedly leading militaries is having to turn to Iran for help with key technologies, which shows just how drained their inventory is.”

NATIONAL SECURITY
Iran sends first shipment of drones to Russia for use in Ukraine
Russian cargo planes left Tehran 10 days ago with UAVs, some of which have already malfunctioned, U.S. and allied officials say

By Ellen Nakashima and Joby Warrick
August 29, 2022 at 5:31 p.m. EDT

A drone is launched during military drills in this photo released by the Iranian army on Aug. 25, 2022. (Iranian army/AP)

Russian cargo planes have quietly picked up the first of scores of Iranian-made combat drones for use against Ukraine, U.S. officials said, in a move that underscores deepening ties between Moscow and Tehran while also highlighting Russia’s struggles to supply its overstretched military.
Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russia's war in Ukraine.

Transport planes departed Iran on Aug. 19 hauling at least two types of unmanned aerial vehicles, both capable of carrying munitions for attacks on radars, artillery and other military targets, according to intelligence gathered by U.S. and other spy agencies.
But while the weapons could provide a significant boost for Russia’s war effort against Ukraine, the transfer has been marred by technical problems, security officials from the United States and an allied government said in interviews. In early tests by the Russians, the Iranian drones experienced numerous failures, the officials said.
“There are a few bugs in the system,” said an allied security official whose government closely monitored the transfer. The official agreed to discuss sensitive intelligence on the condition that his identity and nationality not be revealed. “The Russians are not satisfied,” the official said.
Russian drones are filled with Western electronics, experts say
The initial delivery of the Mohajer-6 and Shahed-series drones to Moscow is believed to be the first installment of a planned transfer of hundreds of Iranian UAVs of various types, Biden administration officials said, also speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity.
The Iranian drones could help fill a crucial gap in Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine. Russia, which has 1,500 to 2,000 military surveillance UAVs, has relatively few attack drones of the type that can deliver precision strikes against targets deep inside enemy territory. Ukraine, by contrast, has used Turkish-made combat UAVs to wreak havoc on Russian armor, trucks and artillery since the early weeks of the conflict.
The Biden administration warned in July that Russia was preparing to acquire large numbers of Iranian drones to conduct air-to-surface attacks, electronic warfare and targeting on the battlefield in Ukraine.
Washington Post columnist David Ignatius reported last week that Iran had begun delivering the drones. But details of the transfer, including the types of UAVs provided and their purportedly lackluster performance so far, have not been previously reported.
In interviews, the U.S. and allied security officials said Russian planes flew to an Iranian military facility to pick up the drones over several days in mid-August. The allied security official said the initial shipment included two models of Shahed drones, the Shahed-129 and Shahed-191, as well as the Mohajer-6. All are considered to be among Iran’s top-of-the-line military drones, designed for attacks as well as surveillance.
The deal was negotiated over several months by a team led by Brig. Gen. Seyed Hojjatollah Qureishi, the chief of the supply and logistics division of Iran’s Defense Ministry, and Russia’s military attache in Tehran, the security official said. Under the arrangement, Iranian technical experts traveled to Russia to help set up the systems, and Russian military officers underwent training in Iran, the official said.
US threatens Russia with technology sanctions over Ukraine
Iranian officials had responded obliquely to U.S. claims about the pending drone delivery. Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani last month acknowledged “Iranian and Russian technological cooperation” but said Tehran prefers a diplomatic settlement to the Ukraine conflict. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, asked last month about the reported deal to acquire Iranian UAVs, said the Russian presidency had “no comments on this matter.”
While Iran has supplied military drones to armed proxy groups such as Yemen’s Houthi rebels, it has rarely, if ever, tested such models against the kinds of sophisticated electronic jamming and antiaircraft systems used in Ukraine, said Michael Knights, a military and security expert with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Iran has demonstrated an ability to launch “swarm” drone attacks — involving multiple suicide drones massed against a single target — and Western governments will be watching closely to see whether Iran’s UAVs can carry out such operations on an intensely contested battlefield, Knights said.
“These Iranian drones have not operated in a sophisticated air-defense environment before,” Knights said. “The closest they’ve come to that is with [Houthi strikes against] Saudi Arabia or against U.S. bases in Iraq, and they have generally not done well. So I wouldn’t be surprised that, in a more intense environment like Ukraine, that they would have some problems.”
For Russia, the Ukraine conflict has exposed the country’s failure to develop a line of combat drones similar to ones used by the United States for two decades, experts say. “They understand that they needed those drones yesterday in large quantities,” said Sam Bendett, a Russian-military analyst at the Virginia-based research group CNA.
And Russia has really only two countries to which it can turn to “plug the capability gap” in combat drones: China and Iran. But China is deeply enmeshed in the global supply chain and does not want to supply combat UAVs because that would probably invite U.S. sanctions, he said.
That leaves Iran, which is not exposed in the same way and whose capability is homegrown, “which is what the Russians are going for,” Bendett said. “Iran is also a Russian ally. So it’s the only real choice left. Iran represents a very interesting case of having a domestic industry that grew up amid sanctions. And it represents a fairly robust capability.”
The United States began in June to supply Ukraine with the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, commonly known as HIMARS, which can launch multiple rockets with precision at Russian military targets from nearly 50 miles away. The use of HIMARS has enabled Ukraine to destroy Russian ammunition depots and logistics supplies far behind the front lines.
“The Russians have no way to limit the damage HIMARS are inflicting on them now,” said Dmitri Alperovitch, chairman of Silverado Policy Accelerator, a Washington-based think tank. “They hope attack drones can help.”
Other NATO-provided long-range artillery, such as M777 howitzers capable of launching precision-guided rounds, also has added to Russia’s challenge, said Rob A. Lee, a Russia military expert and a senior fellow with the Foreign Policy Research Institute.
In militants' hands, Iranian drones emerge as a deadly new wild card
“One of Russia’s biggest problems right now is its air force can’t interdict things behind Ukrainian lines,” Lee said. “They don’t have many long-range UAVs that can strike targets behind enemy lines. So they can’t prevent Ukraine from reinforcing its positions and restocking supplies … And a lot of their UAVs are getting shot down or lost to electronic warfare.”
While Russia is apparently seeking to ramp up domestic production of such drones, it is hampered by Western sanctions and export controls, which have stanched the flow of semiconductor chips essential to producing such weapons, analysts said.
“They’re relying on the black market, but the needs are vast,” Alperovitch said. “You need chips for everything from precision-guided missiles to aircraft to tanks, not to mention nonmilitary items in their own domestic industries. So there’s lots of demand in Russia for chips, and if Russia can procure fully made drones from Iran, it doesn’t need to use its precious supply of black market chips to make its own drones.”
Analysts said the transfer of drones is unlikely to affect the ongoing nuclear talks between Iran and world powers, which are proceeding on a separate track and aimed a different objective: eliminating Iran’s capacity for quickly making a nuclear bomb. But the further cementing of military ties between Iran and Russia is a worrisome development for the United States and its allies, experts said.
“The ever-closer alliance does give Russia some military procurement depth, which will be welcome in Moscow,” said Clifford Kupchan, chairman of the Eurasia Group. “The bigger message — which may be lost on [Russian President Vladimir] Putin for now — is that one of the world’s allegedly leading militaries is having to turn to Iran for help with key technologies, which shows just how drained their inventory is.”

Hezbollah drone flies 40-minute tour of northern Israel, returns to Lebanon​

Hezbollah drone flies 40-minute tour of northern Israel, returns to Lebanon

In Lebanon, Iran-backed Hezbollah said the flight was a “reconnaissance mission”.

www.smh.com.au

Israel Took 30 Minutes to Discover Hezbollah Drone, Lebanese Newspaper Says​

Israel took 30 minutes to discover Hezbollah drone, Lebanese newspaper says

***

www.haaretz.com

Hezbollah’s drone threat is now on display - analysis​

Hezbollah’s drone threat is now on display - analysis

The Lebanese terror orginization is increasingly showing that it can make drones and use them to harass Israel.

www.jpost.com

 

[Stryker1982]

I don't know if anyone wants to hear my thoughts on this article which is not really well researched.

“There are a few bugs in the system,” said an allied security official whose government closely monitored the transfer. The official agreed to discuss sensitive intelligence on the condition that his identity and nationality not be revealed. “The Russians are not satisfied,” the official said.

So why the f*** would you buy them? This is what I don't understand.

The deal was negotiated over several months by a team led by Brig. Gen. Seyed Hojjatollah Qureishi, the chief of the supply and logistics division of Iran’s Defense Ministry, and Russia’s military attache in Tehran, the security official said. Under the arrangement, Iranian technical experts traveled to Russia to help set up the systems, and Russian military officers underwent training in Iran, the official said.

So they had plenty of time to train with them, and only now saw the flaws? This is where the logic doesn't flow. The purpose of trials and training is to test these items before you buy them.

“These Iranian drones have not operated in a sophisticated air-defense environment before,” Knights said. “The closest they’ve come to that is with [Houthi strikes against] Saudi Arabia or against U.S. bases in Iraq, and they have generally not done well. So I wouldn’t be surprised that, in a more intense environment like Ukraine, that they would have some problems.”

This is where the person speaking doesn't actually know what they are saying. First off, none of the drones that are alleged to be delivered were ever seen in the Yemeni theater, none. The only UAVs seen in Yemen were Samand-3, another suicide X-wing UAS, small cruise missiles, and a few recon drones, some Chinese VTOL ones as well. The Samand-3 is a suicide UAS designed by Iran but not part of the Iranian armed forces. They are explicitly used for allied forces, seen in Iraq and Yemen using parts made largely from Aliexpress, allows forces to self-assemble UAS without the need for Iranian parts. Doesn't seem like the person has done their research.

The rest of the article is unrelated. It's largely gaps in knowledge in this article that makes me unsure. I can't assume everything is correctly when I see flaws in the reading. and I frankly can't trust western media on Iran when they called Iranian satellite a "tumbling webcam in space" despite the fact it is in stable orbit as of today.

 

[Blue In Green]

I don't know if anyone wants to hear my thoughts on this article which is not really well researched.

So why the f*** would you buy them? This is what I don't understand.

So they had plenty of time to train with them, and only now saw the flaws? This is where the logic doesn't flow. The purpose of trials and training is to test these items before you buy them.


This is where the person speaking doesn't actually know what they are saying. First off, none of the drones that are alleged to be delivered were ever seen in the Yemeni theater, none. The only UAVs seen in Yemen were Samand-3, another suicide X-wing UAS, small cruise missiles, and a few recon drones, some Chinese VTOL ones as well. The Samand-3 is a suicide UAS designed by Iran but not part of the Iranian armed forces. They are explicitly used for allied forces, seen in Iraq and Yemen using parts made largely from Aliexpress, allows forces to self-assemble UAS without the need for Iranian parts. Doesn't seem like the person has done their research.

The rest of the article is unrelated. It's largely gaps in knowledge in this article that makes me unsure. I can't assume everything is correctly when I see flaws in the reading. and I frankly can't trust western media on Iran when they called Iranian satellite a "tumbling webcam in space" despite the fact it is in stable orbit as of today.

They also said the same thing about Iranian missiles until too many high-profile real-world use cases piled up against that narrative and essentially killed any notion that they were "shit".

'A few bugs' could mean literally anything, and 'numerous failures' doesn't really say much for us as readers. We still haven't seen a single Iranian made drone in the skies over Ukraine and now they want people to believe that there are a lot of issues, again quoting unnamed sources supposedly close to the matter.

I don't doubt (too much) that Russia has bought Iranian drones, but their apparent lack of efficacy in the field is what I do question.

 

[Stryker1982]

They also said the same thing about Iranian missiles until too many high-profile real-world use cases piled up against that narrative and essentially killed any notion that they were "shit".

'A few bugs' could mean literally anything, and 'numerous failures' doesn't really say much for us as readers. We still haven't seen a single Iranian made drone in the skies over Ukraine and now they want people to believe that there are a cavalcade of issues, again quoting unnamed sources supposedly close to the matter.

I don't doubt (too much) that Russia has bought Iranian drones, but their lack of efficacy in the field is what I do question.

Yeah, the same saga happened with missiles for many years, now they do not say anything.

My guess, assuming these transfers are true. I think they want to get ahead of this problem early, they've been doing it months ahead, before Russia publishes videos of strikes that may cause demoralization of Ukr military and people.

Every month or so a new wunderwaffe is sent to Ukraine by NATO forces, to boost morale and "change the game". Whether it be TB-2, HIMARs, longer range missiles, Switchblades, Javelins, NLAWs, etc... All game changing wunderwaffe.

But no such thing on the Russian side? I think they do not want these transfers which may grow even larger with time to be thought of as a Russian wunderwaffe and wish to nip this down a few pegs by saying bugs and malfunctions (although EW would be heavy, I acknowledge that) and try to prevent UAVs from having a demoralizing effect if Russia publishes strikes or publishes videos of it guiding and support artillery.

 

[mohsen]

lol, hilarious western propaganda.

Their intelligence about Iran-Russia cooperation was so limited that they mistook the drone competition in Iran as part of a drone deal, but today they talk about the details of a drone shipment and even the kind of malfunctions!!!

Their propaganda turned into a free advertisement of Iranian drones in the global market, now they switch to some kind of damage control policy.

Please don't buy Iranian drones, they have bugs, correction, full of bugs, endless bugs and malfunctions, so crappy and useless even Russia wont use them, believe us, please

 

[Daylamite Warrior]

Something doesn't add up. Here Ukrainian media is quoting CNN that US has acknowledged that Russia is now in possession of Iranian drones and will be deployed.

Russia receives batch of Iranian drones likely for use in Ukraine - CNN

Russia has purchased and delivered to its territory the first batch of Iranian combat drones that will be likely deployed on the battlefield in Ukraine. — Ukrinform.

www.google.com

No mention of problems or displeasure, because who in their right mind will be poised to deploy if there are problems?! So it seems the media had received this news and began the shit peddling. This is 100% fake news, imo, and the drones work fine because theyre clearly just rushing to discredit it in such knee jerk fashion...this has been the theme of the cartoonish pantomime western media coverage of this war, so shouldn't be too surprised.

 

[Stryker1982]

No mention of problems or displeasure, because who in their right mind will be poised to deploy if there are problems?!

Yes, thier is illogical flow. As well as Russia is looking to acquire a few hundred of them. Again, who in their right mind would acquire more if they are not working or if they are upset. Makes little sense.

 

[Ich]

If we will see strong offensive against Rog and Niko, then we will know that iranian drones are in Ukraine.

 

[SalarHaqq]

They also said the same thing about Iranian missiles until too many high-profile real-world use cases piled up against that narrative and essentially killed any notion that they were "shit".

'A few bugs' could mean literally anything, and 'numerous failures' doesn't really say much for us as readers. We still haven't seen a single Iranian made drone in the skies over Ukraine and now they want people to believe that there are a lot of issues, again quoting unnamed sources supposedly close to the matter.

I don't doubt (too much) that Russia has bought Iranian drones, but their apparent lack of efficacy in the field is what I do question.

Yeah, the same saga happened with missiles for many years, now they do not say anything.

My guess, assuming these transfers are true. I think they want to get ahead of this problem early, they've been doing it months ahead, before Russia publishes videos of strikes that may cause demoralization of Ukr military and people.

Every month or so a new wunderwaffe is sent to Ukraine by NATO forces, to boost morale and "change the game". Whether it be TB-2, HIMARs, longer range missiles, Switchblades, Javelins, NLAWs, etc... All game changing wunderwaffe.

But no such thing on the Russian side? I think they do not want these transfers which may grow even larger with time to be thought of as a Russian wunderwaffe and wish to nip this down a few pegs by saying bugs and malfunctions (although EW would be heavy, I acknowledge that) and try to prevent UAVs from having a demoralizing effect if Russia publishes strikes or publishes videos of it guiding and support artillery.

Your intuition is correct, and I wouldn't doubt for a second the nonsensical nature of this latest twist in the increasingly grotesque narrative coming out of Washington's declining propaganda department. It's most likely an attempt to weasel out of their failing initial disinformation effort about alleged Iranian drone supplies to Russia, while trying to score another propaganda point along the way ("Iranian drones have bugs"). Because after so many weeks even their usually anaesthetized public was starting to sense that there's something rather fishy about a supposedly massive sale of drones of which not a single picture exists and which have never been sighted on the frontline.