S8 Ep669: 13. Russia Supplies Upgraded Drones to Iran as Cooperation Deepens GUEST: Bill Roggio, John Hardy SUMMARY: Russia has begun supplying upgraded Iranian-designed drones back to Tehran, completing a "full circle" of technology sharing. In response, Ukraine i
The John Batchelor Show
John Batchelor
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🗓️ 31 March 2026
⏱️ 9 minutes
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Summary
13. Russia Supplies Upgraded Drones to Iranas Cooperation Deepens GUEST: Bill Roggio, John Hardy SUMMARY: Russia has begun supplying upgraded Iranian-designed drones back to Tehran, completing a "full circle" of technology sharing. In response, Ukraine is deploying counter-drone experts to help defend Arab nations from Iranian attacks.,, Russia is reportedly shipping modified Shahed-136 drones—featuring improved airframes and jamming-resistant antennas—to Iran via the Caspian Sea or Azerbaijan,. John Hardy explains that this cooperation allows Russia to benefit from higher oil prices while depleting Western air defense munitions. Conversely, Ukraine has sent hundreds of counter-drone experts to the Middle East to help Gulf states defend against these Iraniansystems, hoping to trade their expertise for Patriot missile stocks. (13)
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| 0:00.0 | I'm John Batser. Bill Rajio, senior fellow for the Foundation for Defense of Democracy, joins me, |
| 0:21.9 | and we turn to Ukraine war, unusually, because John Hardy's here, watching Ukraine very carefully for these years, |
| 0:30.1 | and now this twist, writing with his colleague, Dmitri Shapiro, at the Long War Journal. |
| 0:36.6 | Russia reportedly sending Iran drones for use against the U.S. and Israel, reading reports |
| 0:42.7 | citing Western officials suggest that Russia has started supplying Iran with drones after |
| 0:47.8 | Russia was previously suspected of providing components to improve Iranian systems. |
| 0:52.9 | The puzzle here is, I thought Russia got the drones from Iran, and now Russia is supplying |
| 0:59.6 | those same drones? |
| 1:01.1 | Drones are a Russian version to Iran. |
| 1:04.1 | John, a very good day to you. |
| 1:06.0 | Both have the capability of manufacturing drones. |
| 1:09.4 | Which way is this traffic going? Is it going from Iran to Russia |
| 1:12.7 | and then improved and then back? Or is this a whole new Russian drone that's being shipped to Iran? |
| 1:19.2 | Good evening to you. Hi, John. Hey, Bill. Thanks for having me back on the show. |
| 1:23.8 | So if these reports from Western officials are true, it sounds like this drone cooperation |
| 1:30.5 | between these two authoritarian regimes is coming full circle. |
| 1:34.6 | As your listeners will know, and as you just mentioned, Iran earlier in the Russia-Ukraine |
| 1:39.1 | war back in summer 2022, first started providing these Shahed 136 and other types of drones who the Russians, |
| 1:48.6 | the next year, beginning of the next year, the Russians with Iranian help established localized |
| 1:53.6 | production of modified versions of the Shahed 136, which is a long way, one-way attack drone |
| 1:59.7 | or kamikaze drone in the popular discourse. |
| 2:02.4 | And so that the Russians over time have continually upgraded and modified these drones, |
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