In the guerranumbers are the most important thing: inflict the most damage possible while receiving, in return, the less the better. It’s all numbers. The casualties on both sides, the facilities destroyed, the civilians killed along the way.
But one figure prevails above all. One, which allows us to continue when the rival can’t take it anymore: the cost of war. How much does it cost to maintain it? And in this sense, Iran has a huge weapon than its current rivals, USA e Israelthey do not have. A weapon not incredibly effective, but very cheap. It’s about drones Shahed-136.
Shahed, en persa, means martyrand the final objective of these small aircraft, to 20,000 euros per unitis precisely that: dying after a single use. The Shahed-136 are disposable, and explode their modest payload of explosives upon impact with their target.
On their own, their interception is simple, since these drones are noisy and bulkyand they have a lawnmower engine that can barely take them very far. But en masse they are capable of—along with ballistic missiles— distract the anti-aircraft defenses and hit the target.
And even if they don’t succeed, the mission is partly accomplished. The Israeli Iron Dome uses missiles whose individual value is about one million euros to overthrow everything that rains against the Jewish State. The price difference is overwhelming because it is ridiculous: 20,000 euros versus one million.
“These drones have the great advantage that they are capable of overwhelming anti-aircraft defenses. At the same time they are launched 200 drones kamikazeothers are fired 10 cruise or ballistic missiles or much more expensive hypersonics. Then, air defenses will already be confused, and these missiles can be much more effective. Therefore, these drones are not a 100% substitute for ballistic missiles, but they completely change the economics of an attack“, the analyst and conflict expert explained to this newspaper a few months ago Guillermo Pulido.
Extended use
Iran, in fact, has sold the Shahed-136s to Russiaboth for its constant use in Ukraine and for its manufacturing, which now takes place partly within Russian territory. The Shahed are launched almost daily against the cities of eastern Ukraineand they are the cause of a large part of the civilian deaths.
Its explosive load is light and small, and each drone has a range of about 2,500 kilometers before impact. Their low technological level also makes them unable to explode on mobile and difficult objects – as other more advanced drones do, such as the Turkish Bayraktarwhich Ukraine itself uses on the battlefield.
Since Saturday, Iran has managed to get several Shahed-136s to bypass Israel’s air defenses, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emiratesand several have managed to hit the ground at various points.
Iran, outmatched militarily, technologically and economically by its two rivals in this war, has surrendered to its drones kamikaze to sustain the conflict and not be overwhelmed, using them as a tool of annoyance for the Gulf countrieswith the aim of forcing them to ask Washington let him lay down his arms. The strategy, however, has not worked so far. Qatar, Iran’s former ally in the region, assured this Monday that it will respond militarily to the attacks that Tehran has made against Doha.
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