U.S. intelligence officials say Russia is building a drone-manufacturing facility with Iran's help, which could have a significant impact on the war in Ukraine once completed, CNN reported.
Analysts from the Defense Intelligence Agency told reporters that the drone-manufacturing facility is expected to give Russia a new drone stockpile that is "orders of magnitude larger" than what it has been able to get from Iran to date.
In April, the U.S. released a satellite image of the planned location of the purported drone manufacturing plant, inside Russia's Alabuga Special Economic Zone, about 600 miles east of Moscow. The analysts said Iran has regularly been taking equipment to Russia to aid with the facility's construction, CNN reported.
To date, it is believed that Iran has provided Russia with over 400 Shahed 131, 136 and Mohajer drones, which Russia has almost completely depleted.
Russia is primarily using the drones to attack critical Ukrainian infrastructure and stretch Ukraine's air defenses, a senior DIA official said. Iran has been using the Caspian Sea to move drones, bullets, and mortar shells to Russia, often using vessels that are "dark," or have turned off their tracking data to disguise their movements, CNN has reported.
The U.S. obtained and analyzed several of the drones downed in Ukraine, and officials say there is "undeniable evidence" that the drones are Iranian. Iran denies that it is giving Russia drones for use in Ukraine.
The DIA analysts showcased debris from drones recovered in Ukraine in 2022, comparing them side-by-side with Iranian-made drones found in Iraq last year, CNN reported.
The U.S. wants Western companies to better monitor their supply chains for signs that their components are being illegally diverted to help manufacture the drones. The Biden administration launched an expansive task force last year to investigate how U.S. and Western components, including American-made microelectronics, were ending up in the Iranian-made drones being used in Russia.
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