‘Fast, deadly, terrifying’: How Iranian drones shook the world – and enamored Trump

By Ivan Kesic

During his visit to Qatar last month, US President Donald Trump made a startling admission that Iranian drones are the best in the world, praising them for their efficiency and affordability.

He encouraged American arms manufacturing companies to develop a comparable product, describing Iran’s indigenous drones as devastating, effective, low-cost, and terrifying.

This candid admission from an American president on a foreign trip follows years of Western denial, dismissal, and downplaying of Iranian military technology.

Western media outlets, which act as an extension of the Western establishments, have for long questioned the prowess of Iranian weapons, manufactured amid cruel and illegal sanctions.

In a report back in November 2012, US news magazine The Atlantic ridiculed a report published in local Iranian media about a drone that could take off and land vertically.

Another report in The Register around the same time, echoed The Atlantic version, saying that drone photographs “bear a striking similarity to those coming out of Japan’s Chiba University”.

Years later, an American president himself is acknowledging Iran’s rapid and remarkable military advancements, especially in the production of world-class drones.

Trump’s assertions

Trump made the remarks about Iranian drones at an event where the topic of discussion was US-Arab relations, the strength of the American military, and plans for new arms development.

To the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, he presented the United States as a reliable and powerful security partner, boasting a military budget of a trillion dollars and the “greatest” military equipment, including fighter jets, missiles, and defense systems.

He then highlighted ongoing efforts to develop new drone systems, which he described as terrifying weapons that have come to play a major role in modern warfare.

“If you look at the war that’s going on [Ukraine War], it’s horrible. But we are watching it very closely, and drones really seem to be taking over that war,” Trump said.

He went on to say that he hoped to create a low-cost drone engine that wouldn’t require excessive spending, pointing to Iran as an example of the direction the US should pursue.

Trump praised Iranian drone technology for its affordability and effectiveness, contrasting it sharply with the high price of US-made drones.

He noted that Iranian drones cost approximately $35,000 to $40,000, while American companies had quoted $41 million for similar models.

“I asked one of the companies—I said, I want a lot of drones. And, you know, in the case of Iran, they make a good drone, and they make them for thirty-five, forty thousand dollars,” Trump stated.

He described Iranian drones as “very good, fast, and deadly,” emphasizing their growing role in modern warfare – an admission that came years after Americans likened Iranian drones to photoshopped images.

“We sent thousands of them up, and that’s a great way. And they’re very good, too—fast and deadly—horrible, actually,” he added.

He further commented on their lethality: “You hide behind a tree, a drone comes down and circles you with fire. You don’t have a chance. A tree comes down also,” he remarked, underlining their destructive capabilities.

These remarks were part of a broader critique of the US military-industrial complex for overpricing, suggesting that America could learn from Iran’s cost-efficient production methods.

Trump expressed his intention to adapt such technology within US capabilities, stating, “Iran makes a lot of drones. Very effective drones,” and adding that they are “on my list of things to watch.”

Game-changer of modern warfare

Trump was apparently referring to the Shahed-136, an Iranian-manufactured, low-cost, long-range loitering munition (kamikaze drone) designed for precision strikes.

Developed in the early 2020s, the Shahed-136 is part of Iran’s broader strategy to produce cost-effective, asymmetric weapons aimed at countering its regional adversaries.

As a loitering munition, the drone can remain airborne over a target area before diving to deliver its explosive payload, combining both surveillance and strike capabilities.

It is engineered for saturation attacks – overwhelming enemy air defenses with sheer volume due to its affordability. Equipped with a pusher propeller, the drone has a wingspan of approximately 2.5 meters, a mass of 200–250 kg, and carries a 40–50 kg explosive warhead.

It travels at a speed of 185-200 km/h and has an estimated range of 1,800–2,500 km, depending on payload and configuration.

Significantly cheaper than Western drones or air-defense systems, the Shahed-136 is optimized for mass production. It is launched from mobile racks, typically five per rack, and requires minimal infrastructure.

Its small radar cross-section and low-altitude flight path make it difficult to detect by conventional radar systems. When deployed in swarms, it poses a near-uncontrollable threat to even advanced air defense networks.

After nearly three years of use in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Western nations have yet to develop an adequate defense against this kamikaze drone. Many military analysts now consider it a game-changer in favor of Russia.

Before its adoption, Russian forces relied heavily on costly and limited-supply cruise and ballistic missiles, or bombers vulnerable to modern air defenses.

In efforts to counter the threat, the Ukrainian Air Force resorted to using jet fighters armed with guns. In one instance, a drone exploded and downed a MiG-29, marking the first known case in military history of a drone shooting down a manned fighter aircraft.

Unable to find an effective solution, Western countries began circulating unsubstantiated claims that Iran had supplied drones to Russia during the war, allegations both Tehran and Moscow have consistently denied.

Iranian officials have repeatedly clarified that a limited number of drones had been delivered to Russia before the war began in February 2022, as part of broader Iranian-Russian cooperation in drone and space technology.

Tehran and Kyiv had reportedly agreed to meet in a European country to discuss the issue, but the Ukrainian delegation backed out at the last minute, under pressure from Washington and Brussels.

As Iranian officials reasonably contend, if evidence exists, Ukraine should present it directly to Iran rather than staging media-driven accusations in Washington or European capitals.

Over the past two years, several nations, including Russia (Geran-2), Ukraine (Batyar), China (Sunflower-200), Saudi Arabia (UnmannedX X-1500), and the United States (Anduril Roadrunner), have introduced copies or very similar variants of the Iranian drone.

Similar developments are also believed to be underway in India, Turkey, and France.

Meanwhile, Iran has advanced the design significantly, unveiling an improved version, the Shahed-238, featuring a microjet engine and an electro-optical camera, along with several other sophisticated models.

From ridicule to admiration

Trump’s recent expressions of admiration for Iranian drones and his call for the US military-industrial complex to emulate their design stand in stark contrast to the longstanding derision with which Western leaders, media, and analysts have treated Iranian drone technology.

For years, Iran’s frequent unveilings of new weapon systems were consistently met with denial, mockery, and dismissal. This persistent underestimation would later prove costly, as time revealed Iran had quietly benefited from being overlooked.

This pattern can be traced back to 2010, when Iran announced the deployment of its first combat drone, the Karrar, which officials described as a “messenger of honor.”

American outlets like Wired dismissed it as “more of an ‘envoy of annoyance’ than a serious threat,” casting doubt on Iran’s so-called “exaggerated claims” of technological progress.

The Los Angeles Times wrote that “few military experts take Iran’s boasts about its conventional military program seriously,” while others derided the drone as outdated, copied, useless, or mere propaganda.

Some Western military pundits, such as Adam Rawnsley, argued that portraying the Karrar as a true unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) was misleading, suggesting instead that it was simply a “target drone” and a copy of the US MQM-107 Streaker from the 1970s.

The pro-Zionist lobby group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) went further, accusing Iranian politicians of a “tendency for silly claims” regarding drone capabilities. 

This dismissive media stance continued with subsequent drone unveilings, notably the 2012 case of the Koker-1 VTOL drone.

Due to a lack of official images, one Iranian news agency used a photo of a Japanese university’s VTOL drone as a placeholder, a common media practice worldwide.

Nevertheless, this sparked a wave of accusations in Western media, claiming that “official Tehran” was attempting to deceive the world with stolen and photoshopped images, even though no military or official Iranian institution had released them.

The Atlantic declared that “the secrets of Iran’s drone technology lie in Photoshop,” while The Register mocked it as a “comical claim from knockabout ayatollahs.”

An even more bizarre episode unfolded the following year with the Iranian drone Qaher-313 and a widely circulated image showing it flying over Mount Damavand.

That photoshopped image had actually been created by an anonymous boy on a military forum and picked up by a local Khuzestan-based news outlet, captioned as a vision of “what Qaher will look like in the future.”

Nonetheless, Western media seized upon it, accusing Iranian authorities of orchestrating deception through “state propaganda”, even though Iranian media, in Persian, had clearly stated the image showed a conceptual model.

They also questioned footage of the Qaher’s flight, once again claiming an official attempt at deception, even though it was publicly clarified that the video featured a scaled-down prototype.

While Western media and self-styled defense analysts sought to ridicule Iranian scientists and engineers, their condescension ultimately revealed more about their blind spots than about Iran’s technological capabilities.

World leader in kamikaze drones

Over the past few decades, Iran has made remarkable advancements in its kamikaze drone (loitering munition) program, firmly establishing itself as the leading player in the world in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology.

Driven by a commitment to domestic innovation and a focus on developing cutting-edge defense technologies, Iran’s drone program emphasizes self-sufficiency.

Iranian officials have consistently highlighted their capability to neutralize any threat using homegrown drone systems.

Globally, Iran is widely recognized as one of the leading drone powers, with several reports ranking it among the top five, or even the top three, alongside the United States and China.

Some analysts even rank the Islamic Republic above the United States and China, referring to its remarkable progress despite decades of illegal sanctions and economic siege.

Considering former President Trump’s remarks about following the “Iranian path,” as well as China’s adoption of drone designs inspired by Iranian models, it is highly likely that Iran currently leads the world in kamikaze drone technology.

Iran’s drone program originated in the 1980s during the imposed war, spurred by the urgent need to overcome limited access to advanced Western military technology due to international sanctions.

A significant turning point came in 2011, when Iran captured and reverse-engineered a US RQ-170 Sentinel stealth drone, then among the most advanced spy drones globally.

Since that breakthrough, Iran has concentrated on producing cost-effective drones using commercially available components. This approach has enabled rapid development despite ongoing sanctions and restrictions.

The Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company (HESA) and Shahed Aviation Industries, operating under the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), spearhead the design and production of these drones.

Compared to foreign counterparts, Iranian kamikaze drones are notably more affordable and boast significantly greater operational ranges.

Until recently, the Iranian Arash-2 held the record for the longest-range kamikaze drone in the world. It has since been surpassed by the Shahed-136B, another Iranian model, which nearly doubles the range at approximately 4,000 kilometers.

In addition to these long-range drones, Iran also deploys a variety of shorter-range kamikaze drones, including the Shahed series, Meraj-521, Meraj-532, Hadid-110, Rezvan, Raad, and even submarine-launched variants.

Similar claims about Iranian missiles

False accusations of photoshopping and quasi-professional downplaying of technological capabilities have also plagued perceptions of Iran’s ballistic missile program.

In the summer of 2008, Iran conducted ballistic missile tests and released images of the launches, including one photo showing three missiles in flight and a fourth on the ground.

A doctored version of the photo, altered to depict all four missiles airborne, was circulated exclusively by Western media outlets, originating from Agence France-Presse.

These outlets falsely claimed that Iran had “tried to cover up a launch failure.”

This manipulated image, along with its misleading narrative, appeared on the front pages of The Los Angeles Times, The Financial Times, The Chicago Tribune, and was featured by BBC News, MSNBC, Yahoo! News, NYTimes.com, and many other major media platforms.

The frequent belittlement of Iranian ballistic missile capabilities has often been reduced to simplistic claims that Iran merely “copies” foreign designs, despite the lack of any other country producing comparable systems, and that its missiles are “inaccurate weapons” suited only for “terrorizing Israeli cities.”

These outdated views largely stem from Anthony Cordesman, a prominent Western analyst of Iran’s military in the 2000s and 2010s, whose assessments have been echoed for years in numerous articles and even academic works.

However, the narrative of Iranian missile inaccuracy was decisively debunked last year, when Iran struck Israeli targets with precision in Operations True Promise 1 and 2.

According to military experts, the persistent underestimation of Iran’s drone and missile capabilities by Western media, analysts, and policymakers has ultimately served Iran’s interests more than it has harmed them.

The West now faces a significant gap in effective air defense systems capable of countering these modern threats.

Even if new defenses are developed over the coming years, Iran is expected to maintain a substantial lead in both drone and ballistic missile technology.