#Russia #Iran #month #assess #drones
Russian officials recently visited Iran twice to assess combat drones, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Saturday, as Moscow seeks to bolster its arsenal for the war in Ukraine.
The Iranian military held two demonstrations for Russian delegations at Kashan Airfield on June 8 and again on July 5, Sullivan said in a statement.
Satellite imagery released by the White House shows Shahed-191 and Shahed-129 drones at or near the site.
The White House said earlier this week that it believes Moscow is looking to acquire hundreds of drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) — and that Tehran will train Russian forces on how to use them later this month.
“We understand that an official Russian delegation recently received a display case of Iranian UAVs with attack capability,” Sullivan said Saturday.
“We are releasing these images taken in June showing Iranian UAVs seen by the Russian government delegation that day. This indicates continued Russian interest in acquiring Iranian attack-capable UAVs.
“To our knowledge, this is the first time a Russian delegation has visited this airfield for such a presentation,” added Sullivan.
John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, told CNN this week that the drones can be used for both reconnaissance and munitions delivery.
“It was important to let the world know that we know Russia needs these additional capabilities,” Kirby said Tuesday. “They are expanding their resources at an accelerated rate.”
The United States and its allies have recently provided Ukrainian forces with longer-range precision weapons, such as the Himars precision-guided missiles, to bolster their ability to hit Russian targets and repel Moscow’s mounting attacks in the east.
Iran said on Tuesday that after February’s invasion of Ukraine there had been “no particular development” in technological cooperation with Russia.
Drones have played a crucial role on both sides of the war in Ukraine, from firing missiles from afar to dropping small bombs on targets and reconnaissance.
Ukrainian forces have had particular success using Turkish-made armed UAVs from Bayraktar, and the United States and other allies have provided Kyiv with many types of smaller drones.
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