• The Mohajer-6 drones, provided by Iran to Russia, are equipped with sophisticated air-to-ground strike capabilities which could prove lethal in the ongoing war in Ukraine.
• Previously used by Iranian proxies and state-related entities, the drones have entered the arsenal of several countries, including Russia, and are currently being used in the Ukraine conflict.

• The delivery of these drones to Russia is suspected to be facilitated through civilian airlines and via the Caspian Sea, exploiting Western vulnerabilities and blind spots.

While the West is still contemplating sending sophisticated unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Ukraine, such as the Reaper and the Predator, Moscow and Tehran are taking a step further to bolster Russia’s unmanned aerial capabilities and tip the balance of power in Russia’s favor on the battlefield. Through an “outside-the-box” approach and carefully designed logistics that exploit the West’s vulnerabilities and blind spots, Tehran and Moscow’s partnership is rapidly developing into a threat that could become a permanent fixture in NATO’s backyard. As Russia embarked on its summer offensive, open-source intelligence reported that Moscow’s strike package in Ukraine now includes Iran’s Mohajer-6s (Twitter/@clashreport, June 6).

In February, Western sources argued that Iran had been smuggling drones to Russia in order to aid in its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. These allegations were also echoed in the Iranian press (Iran International, February 13). Tehran’s generous package allegedly included at least 18 advanced UAVs, including Mohajer-6s, with all 18 enjoying air-to-ground strike capabilities (Iranwire, February 13). Equipped with much more sophisticated features than the Iranian single-attack kamikaze drones, these UAVs can rapidly become highly lethal assets in the hands of the Russian Armed Forces, which may significantly change the trajectory of the war in Ukraine in Russia’s favor.

Produced by the state-owned Qods Aviation Industries, the Mohajer-6 is a mid-range (1200 miles) combat drone with intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities (Iribnews.ir, January 7, 2022). It can carry laser-guided munitions and offer its operator sophisticated air-to-ground strike capabilities. As opposed to the single-attack Shahed-136s actively used by the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine, the Mohajer-6 is a multipurpose drone that can return to its base after each strike. This provides a much more sustainable and flexible concept of operations (CONOPS). In addition, with its low production price and high effectiveness, the Mohajer-6s are a significant asset to any force that needs cheap and high-performance UAVs—with Russia serving as a prime example (Iran Press, January 1, 2022).

n the past, the Mohajer-6 supported Iran’s state-related entities and proxy groups in various ways. At present, it is actively used by the Iranian Navy and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). According to U.S. intelligence, a Mohajer-6 operated by the IRGC was downed on its way to Erbil in the Kurdish Region of Iraq in September 2022 (US Central Command, September 28, 2022). The IRGC has also used the Mohajer-6 in the mountainous areas in the Iraqi-Kurdistan border region against Kurdish insurgents (Tasnim News, July 12, 2019). Other operational advantages that the IRGC derived from the Mohajer-6s involved surveillance and intelligence gathering on militant groups, such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), as well as managing border traffic and security.

The Mohajer-6 is also proliferating fast among Tehran’s proxies across different conflict zones. Open-source intelligence suggests that Iranian-backed militant groups, such as the Lebanese Hezbollah, have a stockpile of more than 2,000 drones (Al Mayadeen, December 23, 2021). This includes advanced drones, and potentially the Mohajer-6. Hezbollah is also known to work closely with the IRGC, which strengthens the possibility that Hezbollah has access to the group’s drone program and capabilities (Gulf International Forum, October 18, 2022). Based in Yemen, the Houthis also often resort to the use of Iranian drones, such as in the strikes against Israeli and Saudi targets, like oil tankers off Abu Dhabi’s coast (Twitter/adityarajkaul, January 17, 2022). As a critical asset in the hands of Tehran’s militias, the Mohajer-6 has thus become a serious force multiplier for Iran’s proxies.

Besides its active use by insurgent groups, the Mohajer-6 has also entered the arsenal of various countries and has multiple operator states. In fact, the UAV has been combat-

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