Russia already producing its own drones and wants to get rid of dependence on Iran - British intelligence

This was reported by the UK Ministry of Defense, according to Ukrinform.

As noted, Russia has almost certainly started to deploy domestically produced one way attack Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (OWA-UAVs) based on Iranian Shahed designs. Russian forces have been importing Iranian-made systems since September 2022.

According to British intelligence, the performance of these weapons has been variable and Ukraine has proved effective in neutralising the majority of incoming OWA-UAVs.

“Russia likely aims for self-sufficiency in OWA-UAVs in the coming months. However, in the interim, Russia remains reliant on components and whole weapons from Iran, primarily shipped via the Caspian Sea”, the UK Ministry of Defense believes.

As reported, Russia has begun production of its own version of Iranian Shahed attack drones and has already used them against Ukraine. Researchers claim that disposable drones called Geranium-2 are a Russian version of Iranian drones.