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By Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans
Iran's drone success sets the stage for an expansion of its sphere of influence as the number of countries where Iranian UAVs operate is growing. This not only includes a vast number of non-state actors such as Hizbullah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and the Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq, but also countries like Ethiopia (which began to operate its Mohajer-6 UCAVs in late 2021 after some initial teething issues), Russia and Tajikistan. It seems like the number of state actors operating Iranian UAVs is only set to increase in the future, while non-state actors like the Houthis will continue to receive new Iranian drone designs as the country's UAV designs are rapidly evolving despite the implementation of foreign sanctions specifically targeting Iran's drone industry and its exports abroad.
Iran's drone success sets the stage for an expansion of its sphere of influence as the number of countries where Iranian UAVs operate is growing. This not only includes a vast number of non-state actors such as Hizbullah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and the Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq, but also countries like Ethiopia (which began to operate its Mohajer-6 UCAVs in late 2021 after some initial teething issues), Russia and Tajikistan. It seems like the number of state actors operating Iranian UAVs is only set to increase in the future, while non-state actors like the Houthis will continue to receive new Iranian drone designs as the country's UAV designs are rapidly evolving despite the implementation of foreign sanctions specifically targeting Iran's drone industry and its exports abroad.
The goal of this list is to catalogue Iranian drone deliveries to state and non-state actors. This list only includes UAVs
confirmed to be in service with a state or non-state actor other than
Iran, not those operated by Iranian personnel in Syria or elsewhere. A year in square brackets after the designation refers to the year the
equipment was first seen in, which more often than not is
also the delivery date. This list is updated as new operators of Iranian drones emerge.
For a complete
overview of Iran's unmanned aerial vehicles please click here.
Africa
Ethiopia
Mohajer-6 UCAV [2021]
Libyan National Army (Libya)
- Ababil-2 Reconnaissance UAV [2020]
- Mohajer-2 Reconnaissance UAV [2017]
Sudan
- Early Ababil-3 ''Zagil III-B'' Reconnaissance UAV [2008]
- Ababil-B Target Drone Or Ababil-2T Loitering Munition [2020]
Central Asia
Tajikistan
Europe
Russia
- Mohajer-6 UCAV [2022]
- Shahed-131 ''Geran-1'' [2022]
- Shahed-136 ''Geran-2'' [2022]
Middle East
Hamas (Palestine)
- Ababil-2T ''Shihab'' Loitering Munition [2021]
- Unknown Loitering Munition (1) ''Al-Zawari'' [2022] Two configurations: (2)
Houthis (Yemen)
- Unknown Reconnaissance UAV (1) ''Samad-1'' [2019]
- ''Mersad-1'' Reconnaissance UAV [2021]
- ''Mersad-2'' Reconnaissance UAV [2022]
- ''Samad-4'' UCAV [2021]
- Ababil-2T ''Qasef-1'' Loitering Munition [2017]
- Ababil-2T ''Qasef-2K'' Loitering Munition [2019]
- ''Samad-2'' Loitering Munition [2019]
- Sepehr ''Samad-3'' Loitering Munition [2019] Two configurations: (2)
- ''Shihab'' Loitering Munition [2021]
- Shahed-136 ''Wa'aed'' Loitering Munition [2021]
- ''Khatif-1'' Loitering Munition [2021]
- Unknown Loitering Munition (1) ''Khatif-2'' [2022]
Hizbullah (Lebanon)
- Mohajer-2 Reconnaissance UAV
- Unknown Reconnaissance UAV (1)
- Ababil-2T ''Mirsad-1'' Loitering Munition
Iraq
- Mohajem-92 ''Raqeep or Raqib'' Reconnaissance UAV
- Early Ababil-3 ''AB-3 or Pahpad'' Reconnaissance UAV
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (Palestine)
Popular Mobilization Forces (Iraq)
- ''PXHAWK'' Reconnaissance UAV [2022]
- Oghab-1 ''Basra-2'' Reconnaissance UAV [2015]
- Yasir ''Sayed-2'' Reconnaissance UAV [2014]
- Mohajer-6 UCAV [2021]
- Shahed-131 ''Murad-6'' Loitering Munition [2021]
- Unknown Loitering Munition (1) ''Murad-5'' [2020]
Syria
- Ababil-B Target Drone [2012]
- Unknown Target Drone (1) [2012]
