Western militaries and defense firms are racing to develop low-cost attack drones modelled on Iran’s Shahed after the weapon’s use in Ukraine showed how mass-produced unmanned aerial vehicles can overwhelm air defenses, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
The Journal said the Shahed-136’s simple delta wing, propeller engine and composite body enable cheap manufacturing, with Russian-built versions priced at about $35,000 to $60,000 each, compared with Western systems that can cost hundreds of thousands to more than $1 million.
“If you do get into a war, you need deep, deep pockets,” Lt. Gen. André Steur, commander of the Royal Netherlands Air and Space Force, told the paper.
The article, written by Alistair MacDonald, said Russia has deployed Shaheds in large salvos -- sometimes alongside missiles -- to saturate Ukrainian air defenses, prompting US and European companies to field look-alike designs.
At a Pentagon event this summer, 18 American-made drone prototypes were on display, the paper reported, including SpektreWorks’ Lucas and Griffon Aerospace’s Arrowhead, both of which mirror the Shahed’s delta planform and are aimed at mass production.
Western manufacturers argue that higher performance can justify higher unit prices. “If twice as many SkySharks hit their target, then it is much cheaper than a Shahed,” Mike Gascoyne, founder of Britain’s MGI Engineering, told the Journal, describing his SkyShark as able to fly at about 280 miles per hour compared with roughly 115 mph for a Shahed-136.
Analysts and defense officials told the Journal that cheap, one-way loitering munitions deployed in swarms present a strategic challenge because they force defenders to expend costly interceptors.
“Cheap, long-range precision saturation strikes are one of the greatest threats to international security,” James Patton Rogers of the Cornell Brooks Tech Policy Institute was quoted as saying.
The Journal also cited defense industry figures saying some companies are now selling Shahed-like target drones so air-defense units can train against swarm attacks.
Hugo Coqueret, a business development manager at European missile maker MBDA, was quoted saying, “Mass produced at a fraction of the cost of a cruise missile, it will tire out the enemy’s defense.”
Western governments have imposed rounds of sanctions on Iranian drone producers and procurement networks, blaming Tehran for supplying drones to Russia and to regional armed groups.
