The Guardian, citing sources inside Iran, reported on February 12 that Iran has used boats and a state-owned airline to smuggle new types of advanced long-range armed drones into Russia for use in its war on Ukraine.  

At least 18 of the drones were reportedly delivered to Russia’s navy after Russian officers and technicians made a special visit to Tehran in November, where they were shown a full range of Iran’s technologies.

According to the report, most of the drones in question were “secretly picked” by an Iranian vessel from a base in the Caspian Sea and then transferred by sea to a Russian navy boat.  The sources also claimed that others were sent to Moscow on a state-owned Iranian airline.

According to The Guardian, the were reportedly delivered to Russia’s navy after Russian officers and technicians made a special visit to Tehran in November, where they were shown a full range of Iran’s technologies.

On that occasion, the 10-man Russian delegation reportedly selected six Mohajer-6 drones, which have a range of around 200km and carry two missiles under each wing, along with 12 Shaheed 191 and 129 drones, which also have an air-to-ground strike capability.

This comes after officials in the United States said that Iran had begun showcasing its Shahed 191 and 129 drones in June to Russia and expected the sale to happen in the upcoming months.  Additionally, Tehran has also sent three officials per drone which is approximately 54 people in total to help “integrate the smuggled craft into the Russian military”, The Guardian claimed, citing sources in Iran.