Iran's military arsenal: From cold war relics to modern drones

Iran has become – indirectly – a participant in the war in Ukraine due to the ammunition supplied to Russia, particularly the drones from the Shahed family. Meanwhile, as Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has noted, Tehran recently decided to attack Israel.

Returning Iran's assistance to Russia includes designs of varying technical levels, sizes, and purposes. Iran produces both loitering munitions and simple strike drones, as well as large MALE-class drones, which—like the Shahed 149 Gaza—correspond to American MQ-9 Reaper machines.

Iranian aid to Russia during the war in Ukraine primarily includes simple strike drones like the Shahed 131 and Shahed 136. Both machines are powered by piston engines, have a pusher propeller, and have a delta-wing configuration.

The smaller Shahed 131 has a wingspan of 2 metres and weighs 185 kilograms, with about 15 kilograms allocated to the warhead. Its range is 900 kilometres. The larger Shahed 136 has a wingspan of 2.4 metres, weighs about 200 kilograms, and can carry up to 20 kilograms of explosives over a distance of up to 1,500 kilometres. Both drones have low flight speeds (approximately 185 km/h), making them easier to combat.

The Russians produce them (according to some sources, it's merely assembly from Iranian parts) at the Yelabuga plants in Tatarstan as Geran-1 and Geran-2. The drone Shahed 238, whose Russian variant is called M 237, offers much greater capabilities. This machine is powered by a jet engine and, according to Ukrainian sources, has a range of up to 2,000 kilometres and carries a warhead weighing 50 kilograms.

The drone features a much more sophisticated guidance system, and it may be coated with a radar-absorbing layer. Its cruising speed of 600 km/h makes it a much more challenging target. Although the Russians have publicly showcased their version of this design, there is no confirmation that they've managed to launch its mass production.

Due to its widespread use during the war in Ukraine, as well as the specifics of recent conflicts in the Middle East, various types of drones have become a hallmark of the Iranian defence industry. However, the capabilities of the Iranian industry do not end there.

The arsenal of the Iranian army is a true mosaic of equipment. This is because, before the Islamic Revolution, Iran – at the time perceived by the West as a close and valuable ally – bought significant amounts of weapons in Europe and the United States.

Although not all orders were fulfilled due to the political and religious upheaval in 1979, some of the equipment of the local army originates from that time.

Tehran purchased about 1,000 Chieftain tanks (subsequently modernised locally as Mobarez), 300 FV101 armoured vehicles from the UK, and Rapier anti-aircraft systems. Iran acquired hundreds of M60 tanks, M113 armoured personnel carriers, and MIM-23 Hawk anti-aircraft launchers from the United States.

Perhaps the most significant reinforcement of Iran's capabilities came from American aircraft. The flagship example here is the F-14 Tomcat fighters, of which Iran is now the only user after the U.S. Navy retired this equipment. Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi ordered as many as 80 of these large, twin-engine machines with variable-sweep wings and advanced (for the 1970s) avionics.

Even though nearly half a century has passed since the delivery of these machines, Iranian Tomcats still command respect due to their unique armament – the AIM-54A Phoenix air-to-air missiles with a range of over 180 kilometres. Although it is unknown how many Tomcats remain airworthy and in what condition the Phoenix missiles are, they still constitute a force to be reckoned with in the Middle East and unsettle the Pentagon.

It is because of the Iranian F-14s that the process of scrapping American Tomcats was subject to special oversight to prevent any parts or consumables from being obtained by Tehran.

Some of the 200 F-4 Phantoms and 300 light F-5 fighters ordered by the Shah also remain in service. On their basis, the Iranian aviation industry built its own upgraded version called the HESA Saeqeh 2, with improved avionics, a new radar, and – according to Iranian sources – integration with modern armaments.

The Iranian army also uses Bell AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters from the Shah's time, as well as variants built on their basis through reverse engineering, known as Panha and Toufan 2. The Asian country also operates, among other models, Bell 212 helicopters—it was in a crash of this type of machine that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi died in May 2024.

Old American tanks are also being modernised, and the Iranian industry builds "its own" vehicles from available components. Probably the most interesting of these is the Zulfiqar tank (and its developmental versions), a peculiar combination of old American chassis from the M60, an Iranian turret, and Russian armament in the form of the 2A46 cannon used, among other models, in the T-72 tanks.

Another example of an Iranian tank—this time, according to Tehran, entirely built by local forces—is the Karar, which is visually similar to the Russian T-90.

Iran also operates significant amounts of older American artillery, such as the M107 self-propelled howitzers (175 mm calibre), M109 (155 mm), and M110 (203 mm). The army also has Soviet/Russian-made systems, Indigenous Raad howitzers, and artillery imported from North Korea.

Besides weapons whose existence in useful form has been confirmed, Iran occasionally astonishes the world with equipment that is likely just a model or dummy. One example is the Iranian "stealth aircraft" Qaher-313, presented by Tehran as a fifth-generation machine.

Although Qaher-313 has been showcased multiple times, experts believe it is an obvious hoax. Its cockpit is too cramped to accommodate an average-sized human, there is no space for radar, and there are no typical access panels for the various aircraft installations.

Similarly, "new" tanks are displayed, which in practice are British Chieftains adorned with flashy-looking armour or ships, whose main feature seems to be a futuristic appearance, like the corvettes Abu Mahdi or Shahed Soleimani handed over to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

However, Iran's ballistic missiles are entirely real. Tehran's security policy and the bane of its neighbours and the West are the missile capabilities being intensively developed by this country.

The result of these efforts is the Shahab ballistic missile family or the Ghadr-110 missile, considered a potential carrier of an Iranian nuclear warhead. Currently, Iran already possesses ballistic missiles of the IRBM (intermediate-range) class, with a range of 4,000 - 5,000 kilometres, and is working on intercontinental weapons.

A derivative of missile force development is space capabilities. Although many launches fail, Tehran can boast of independently placing payloads into orbit.