A defense expert has warned that Iran is carrying out a large-scale drone campaign across the Middle East. It is launching waves of low-cost, one-way attack drones, also called unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), against targets linked to the West to impose “exponential cost on the U.S.”
As Tehran is reported to have launched thousands of drones across the region and Iranian state media shared footage of underground stockpiles, Cameron Chell, the CEO of a drone – making and tech company, said that Iran’s strategy aims to make high – end defenses deal with inexpensive aerial threats.
“Even if a decentralized unit has a hundred of these drones, they can cause terror in a neighboring state in a way never imagined before,” Chell told Digital. “The Iranians can’t win the war with these drones, but like the [communist] Viet Cong during the Vietnam War, they have an asymmetric capability that can prolong the war and create political pressure.”
“Iran can cause terror in unimaginable ways and force the U.S. to bear exponential costs as it has to target these small, very hard – to – detect drone units,” he added.
Chell’s warning comes as tensions have escalated after Saturday’s attack on Iran that targeted nuclear sites, missile facilities, and leadership, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several commanders.
The Iranian drones have proven deadly, killing six U.S. service members in an attack on a tactical center in Kuwait earlier this week.
A CIA station in the U.S. Embassy in the Saudi capital of Riyadh was hit in an attack on Tuesday, causing a small fire but no reported injuries.
In Bahrain, drones reported to be Iranian Shahed models crashed into the upper floors of the Era View Tower in Manama, about one mile from a U.S. Navy base.
An Iranian drone also hit a parking lot outside the U.S. Consulate in Dubai, while the United Arab Emirates said it intercepted Iranian missiles and drone attacks aimed at the country.
“Based on the engine sound, the apparent attack angle, and the implied speed, to the best of my knowledge, this was a Shahed – class one – way attack drone,” Chell said about the Dubai consulate attack video before suggesting that the drone footage showed “a Shahed 191.”
Fars News Agency also released footage that claims to show many attack drones stored in large underground tunnels in Iran.
The video seemed to show rows of triangular – shaped drones on rocket launchers, missiles lined up, four on each launcher vehicle, and walls decorated with Iranian flags and photographs of Khamenei. Media outlets noted that the timing and location of the video remain unconfirmed.
“It’s difficult to confirm that Iran currently has the ability to produce these drones in such large quantities during wartime,” Chell said about the stockpiling footage.
“If they were producing them in those numbers, a significant portion would likely have been for delivery to Russia, which doesn’t seem impossible. That said, the drones in the underground propaganda video are Shahed 191 drones.”
A new report emphasized Chell’s comments on cost and range.
“Currently, Iran is using a combination of ballistic missiles and attack drones,” said senior fellow Dara Massicot. “The methods are effective, but targeting drones in this way is resource – intensive and costly, and it will quickly deplete certain types of interceptors.”
“Ground – based air defense interceptor missiles are not unlimited, and the United States and its partners and allies have faced challenges in maintaining stockpiles in this area for years,” she added.
Another senior fellow, Steve Feldstein, added, “An important point is that the world is entering a new era of drone warfare as unmanned aircraft are spreading on the battlefields of both major and minor conflicts.”