You were right in principle by stating Russia would not buy drones because they don’t need what they already can produce. This is more of a strategic move, with the real emphasis being the deal itself, in the shadow of a pending decision on the Nuclear treaty.

Posted by: Buddy the Cat | Aug 13 2022 14:37 utc | 1

Quail can be quite tasty, and its small size compensated by stuffing with honeyed wild rice.

Thanks for the report, b.

Posted by: ChasMark | Aug 13 2022 14:39 utc | 2

This deal bypasses the bottlenecks Russia is experiencing with producing their own equipment due to the imposed sanctions. Iran has had 30 years to get around it.

Posted by: gerimov | Aug 13 2022 14:40 utc | 3

Eating crow is a sign of humility. You will notice that in the West, especially in the US/UK/Israel Axis, there are no crow to eat!

Russia buying Iranian drones is a great sign of the technological progress of the Iranian military under the weight of decades of US sanctions. It should be a big warning to Israel (and the US) not to mess with Iran. Let's hope that Russia reciprocates by supplying Iran with some S-300s or even S-400s!

Posted by: Sam Smith | Aug 13 2022 14:48 utc | 4

Good to see honesty in reporting, actually, it's good to see reporting, both being so extremely rare, I fear they're near extinction.

Posted by: S Brennan | Aug 13 2022 14:52 utc | 5

Thanks for the reporting b, even if the taste for you is off a bit

We are in a civilization war so I am not surprised by military alliances among axis parties and was a little surprised when you reported them not happening.

I also don't think it matters a whit at this moment about ongoing nuclear agreement negotiation progress which will proceed much better if/when the bully of empire is neutered....and I believe that is coming.

I also expect the market for military equipment to decrease significantly when this war is over because the private bankers getting neutered as the bullies of empire will reduce the demand for such.....let them run bake sales for guns.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Aug 13 2022 14:54 utc | 6

The second type of UAV may be the Shahad 191. Which was reverse engineered from the US "stealth" drone that was hacked and brought down intact in Iran.

(according to an US source; so take a bit of salt when chewing the news)

Posted by: Stonebird | Aug 13 2022 14:56 utc | 7

I believe this is more of a signal of strategic alliance than critical need for these drones.

I doubt Iran has greater capacity than Russia to build this. Russia itself is not lacking technical knowledge. Also this is great boost to Iran's image. So real question is what Russia gets in return? Same as with Turkey and S-400, it is not money but strategic balance.

Posted by: Abe | Aug 13 2022 14:59 utc | 8

Meanwhile at the State Department:

https://southfront.org/us-threatens-russia-and-iran-with-sanctions-over-alleged-drone-deal/

:-)

Posted by: Zet | Aug 13 2022 15:07 utc | 9

Any nuclear deal will be canceled again when Trump comes back. Each faction in US has their preferred targets. And until a contract is made public, this is still only a story.

Russia might want to buy some drones right now, they'll have to fly 24/7 to find terrorists shelling power plants and cities. But otherwise they don't need to buy them. There are various finished models, ready for production with flight times longer than 24h and long range but some genius in the budgeting office didn't put any money in drones at all. Okhotnik, which has no equivalent so they can't even buy something like it, won't be ready before 2024. There was progress made, it has received the new stealth engine last December, so that project receives attention because it's of strategic use as strike platform and targeting system for hypersonic missiles.

Posted by: rk | Aug 13 2022 15:11 utc | 10

That Russia has no large UCAVs is not exactly true; there is the Orion (or Inokhodets as the domestic version is called) UCAV, which is very similar in characteristics to the Shahed 129 (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kronshtadt_Orion); the main difference is that the Iranian one may have a bit more payload and the newer versions of it come with satellite guidance. Russian drones with more payload than that and satellite guidance are in development and testing but not yet ready for serial production. A completely new UAV factory, owned by the UAV company Kronshtadt, has recently been completed in Russia as well, so the production rate of large UCAVs in Russia should significantly increase over the coming months and years.

It may be that Russia wants drones with the greater range afforded by satellite guidance right now, instead of waiting for its own projects to complete, or that Iran can deliver larger amounts right now, before Russian production rates reach satisfactory levels, but I suspect an important aspect of this deal (if it's actually real) is that Iran seems to have been rather reluctant lately committing to buying Russian weapons and may simply want Russia to reciprocate so they can market their own products better in the future.

Posted by: jamed | Aug 13 2022 15:16 utc | 11

Maybe I am looking at this the wrong way?
The US decided not to send Predators to Ukraine because a big slow drone will not last long against better air defenses.

Just seems like these will be fodder for Newsweek, NYT etc etc stories about Ukraine "winning" the air war and "proof" Russia doesn't have air superiority.

What am I missing?

Posted by: BillInAlabama | Aug 13 2022 15:27 utc | 12

Russia seems to have problems in drone program compared with other weapon programs, or which there are many. It can be an issue how well you can do X things at once. Technology and product exchange exist for a reason.

Economically, Russia definitely has the ability to pay, be it money, technology or military supplies of other kinds.

Politically, it is a big win, a show of unity of the opponents of the West that is bound to change expectations and calculations of various parties including Washington. Especially if the drones will have visible impact on the front. Mind you, war on Iran is planned too, and nuclear negotiation to revive JCPOA are at standstill because USA is unable to promise to keep their promises. When the consequences of this attitude span from Arctic Ocean to Persian Gulf in more and more tangible way... either there will be a Western recalculation, or, well, consequences like "if we cannot export and import, neither will you".

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Aug 13 2022 15:27 utc | 13

Russia just launched an Iranian satellite a few days ago. The quid pro quo is already apparent. Iran is thriving despite the western sanctions. What they need most to watch out for are the agents and Trojan horses in their midst helping the other side to sabotage progress

Posted by: DaVinci | Aug 13 2022 15:28 utc | 14

If the Russians have tried out some Iranian drones in war conditions and want some more, it must be because they find them useful.

Any condition in which countries under western Atlanticist attack are pooling resources and know-how to fight back, is encouraging.

Posted by: tim rourke | Aug 13 2022 15:30 utc | 15

If Iran is smart, it will buy defence equipment from Russia that increases its defenses against Israeli attacks and/or offers an enhanced counter strike capability.

Posted by: Dave Pollard | Aug 13 2022 15:31 utc | 16

Long overdue.

Well done, Russia and Iran !

Posted by: Karl | Aug 13 2022 15:39 utc | 17

I really don't see why anyone thought it would be odd for Russia to buy drones from Iran. I realize people in the US confuse Iran with Iraq and Afghanistan, but Iran isn't just a bunch of farmers. They have a fairly diverse industrial economy and a heavy emphasis on STEM education. My bet would be that Iranian drone tech puts drones like the Bayraktar to shame, and probably at a fraction of the cost (drones should be thought of as disposable so lower cost is a critical feature).

Next is the issue of balance of payments between Russia and Iran. While Iran's economy is fairly large and diverse, Russia's economy is even bigger and more diverse. I have not yet investigated what is traded between the two countries but I wouldn't be surprised if Russia were running a big trade surplus. Weapons systems tend to be at or near the top of the value added chain and so sales of them would be an excellent way to even out the trade balance. Some big drone sales would also help Iran scale production, boost economic activity higher up the value added chain, and in so doing make Iran a better trading partner. That fits right in with the BRI "win-win" philosophy that Eurasian integration is supposed to be fostering.

Basically, Russia making drone purchases from Iran just makes good economic sense.

I have to admit that I am quite excited to see how Iranian drones perform at denazification. I doubt they will really change the course of the conflict much but it will be fascinating to see Iranian tech in large scale action.

Posted by: William Gruff | Aug 13 2022 15:42 utc | 18

The almost criminal lack of drones in sufficient quantities has been a theme I've seen on Russian TG channels since February.

Ukrainian forces were well ahead of the Russians on this initially, accounting for serious losses from artillery.

Civilian support groups are still sending DJI consumer drones to infantry at the front.

It seems modernisation of equipment and doctrine in the RF armed forces is very patchy. Perhaps Putin withholds employment of the best units just in case NATO tries to directly intervene.

Another comment I've read stated that the use of Iranian drones would not compromise the secrets of the more advanced models of Russian drones, as any drones shot down over UKR airspace would be sent to NATO immediately for examination.

The Iranian drones meanwhile are already a known quantity to NATO, therefore they can be used more freely at the front.

Posted by: moaobserver | Aug 13 2022 15:51 utc | 19

Kudos to you for having integrity and honesty in your work. It's why we come to you instead of any of the lying asshats that represent mainstream U.S. media.

Posted by: Mario | Aug 13 2022 15:52 utc | 20

In the course of my life I have often had to eat my words, and I must confess that I have always found it a wholesome diet.

Churchill

Posted by: John Kennard | Aug 13 2022 15:52 utc | 21

like psychohistorian & william gruff & others, i believed russia & iran would trade military equipment. some years ago, i cannot remember exactly bt probably nearly 5yrs now, russia & iran signed a very hefty oil deal. @ the time, iran was heavily sanctioned & isolated. the deal worked for both sides: russia could take beautiful persian oil, & either keep it for domestic use or sell it, while iran got materials & staples & money it could trade with. now iran is sco which translates, brothers with vested interests & a desire to help the other win. both share a long sometimes troubled history bt a shared belief in a higher power, truth & right. both iran & russia know who & what the axis of evil are all about. they are allies, just as china is, & i won't be shocked to learn china has shared chips with either or both iran & russia. this is a battle for humanity after all.

Posted by: emersonreturn | Aug 13 2022 15:53 utc | 22

This crow eating, and the way the previous text was placed so everyone could see the birds bones, is an exemplar of intelectual honesty.

I pretty much prefer it this way, than those thata are "always right".
Keep the good work.

Russia + China + Iran = Game Over for USA at least in its Eurasia, let's call it, " strategy".
On top of that, all trade deals in national currency, and econonical integration between those 3 and India, Saudi Arabia, and even Turkey, and so many others.

That's why USA NeoCons are so nervous...

Posted by: Carlos Marques | Aug 13 2022 15:55 utc | 23

The 1980s called. They want their computer back.

I skimmed through the RUSI report on Russian electronics used in recovered weapons, posted by Et Tu in the last thread.

Silicon Lifeline: Western Electronics at the Heart of Russia’s War Machine

This report, which contains an examination of the components and functioning of 27 of Russia’s most modern military systems – including cruise missiles, communications systems and electronic warfare complexes – concludes that the degradation in Russian military capability could be made permanent if appropriate policies are implemented.

Based on the technical inspection of Russian military equipment captured in or fired at Ukraine, this report outlines the extent to which Russia’s multi-billion-dollar, decades-long military modernisation programme has depended on the extensive use of microelectronics manufactured in the US, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the UK, France and Germany.

My conclusion is, that the weapons analyzed are based on 1990s technology.

On page 8 the report list seven main Western components used in three Russian weapons systems. I randomly chose two of these.

• The ADSP-2185L microprocessor used in the R168 Akveduk radio station is a 1990s technology digital signal processor from Analog Devices. The manufacturer lists its key features as 80K bytes of on-chip RAM, 30 ns instruction cycle time, and 33 MIPS sustained performance.
• The S29AL032D used in the 9M549 guided rocket for the 300 mm Smerch launcher is a standard 32 megabit flash memory chip in a TSOP package. Its data sheet from Infineon states that it is manufactured on 200-nm process technology. According to Wikipedia the 180 nm process node was state of the art in 1999. Wikichip notes, that at the the time there were 29 companies producing chips with comparable technology.

Page 35 of the report shows the design of the Zarya computer of the Iskander 9M727 cruise missile. Closeup photos show three different versions of the Texas Instruments TMS320 signal processor, with copyright markings from 1986, 1988, and 1990.

Weapons systems and aviation often rely on archaic computer technology. The Boeing 737 MAX likewise uses computer designs from the 1980s. A processor of a modern smartphone has more more intelligence than is needed in any smart weapon. In fact, the a $100 smartphone is likely to contain more precessing power and memory than all the smart munitions fired by Russia at Ukraina combined.

The leading edge 10 nm and 7 nm semiconductor fabrication technologies are only needed for the latest mobile consumer products. Military and space technology is more likely to be produced by older 200 nm fabs. Russia has the technology and capacity to mass produce 65 nm chips domestically. One of the largest uses is credit and debit cards. The chips for the Mir payment cards are produced in Russia using a 65 nm process.

Sanctioning Russia's semiconductor use will have no effect on the current war. As RUSI notes:

In many cases, the Russian military has procured up to a decade’s worth of components for critical systems in advance, precisely to safeguard production against sanctions.

If this report is to have any effect, it will likely be more sanctions on China. In the long term, it will only accelerate the process of dedollarization.

Posted by: Petri Krohn | Aug 13 2022 15:57 utc | 24

@gerimov #3

Do you have evidence behind your statement?

In particular, that sanctions against Russia are more effective than the multi-decade sanctions against Iran?

Otherwise, your statement sounds like nothing more than garbage.
Are you channeling the Moscow Times or Voice of America again?

Posted by: c1ue | Aug 13 2022 16:01 utc | 25

@Stonebird #7

The "hacking" was simply inserting into a video and control feed which wasn't even encrypted...

Posted by: c1ue | Aug 13 2022 16:02 utc | 26

This is more of a strategic move, with the real emphasis being the deal itself

Posted by: Buddy the Cat | Aug 13 2022 14:37 utc | 1

...boost to Iran's image. So real question is what Russia gets in return? Same as with Turkey and S-400, it is not money but strategic balance

Posted by: Abe | Aug 13 2022 14:59 utc | 8

Yes. It is a major diplomatic move, which the Russians excel at, which is why they win Asia. The weight that diplomacy at this level carries is no longer understood in the declining "West".

Posted by: veto | Aug 13 2022 16:06 utc | 27

@Petri Krohn #23
Good to see the highly paid analysts are now saying what I posted literally over a month ago

A look at Russian electronics from public sources, post #22 on July 10, 2022 OT

Posted by: c1ue | Aug 13 2022 16:08 utc | 28

lol. thanks b, a friend of mine apparently used to shoot blackbirds as a murderous child with an air rifle and claimed that he would eat just the breasts , raw, I didn’t approve of the dumb mass slaughter and told him so, nasty boy he was.

To the subject at hand I have no doubts that many more such co-operations are going to come into effect over the next year…I don’t think it would have been possible without ratification of Iran as a full partner in the SCO.

It’s all about the Treaty on Long-Term Neighbourly Relations, Friendship and Cooperation between the SCO Member States.

I’ll quote this in full as I don’t know which bits to leave out I’ll try to highlight as our dear Karloff does 😉

“On 15 July, Beijing hosted a news conference with SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming on the results of his trip to the SCO founding states. The news conference lasted three hours and brought together some 50 media outlets taking part in the online and offline formats.
Key points:
— There is a need to reconsider the place and role of the SCO in the new environment and develop a strategy to resist new challenges and threats.
Zhang Ming: "It was my first visit to the SCO member states since I took office as SCO Secretary-General. The main goal of the trip was to discuss various areas of activity within the SCO. The member states are facing an important task of finding the best possible way to adjust to the current global changes, develop and keep up with the times, continue improving mechanisms to ensure the security of the SCO member states and stability within the organisation's area of responsibility, and step up efforts to counter attempts at external interference into the domestic affairs of the member states."
— Countries have lined up to become full members, observers or dialogue partners of the SCO.
The SCO has received 11 applications to join the organisation in one or another capacity or to upgrade the status of existing relations.
Zhang Ming: "The Republic of Belarus has officially submitted a membership application. It seems that Minsk has concluded that the SCO values and principles are the same as the Belarusian ones, and the multifaceted cooperation that is steadily gaining momentum within the organisation serves the interests of Belarus. As for the timeframe, it is necessary to keep in mind that the SCO takes all decisions by consensus. If the organisation reaches an agreement, it will launch the legal procedure to admit the Republic of Belarus into the SCO. Last year, the SCO heads of state decided at a council meeting in Dushanbe to begin the legal procedure of granting membership to Iran.

We expect the SCO heads of state to adopt a memorandum of obligations for the Islamic Republic of Iran to receive SCO membership at their meeting in September."

— Do not compare the NATO agenda and the SCO agenda. The SCO is not a military bloc.
Zhang Ming: "NATO is the largest military bloc, a product of the Cold War. The North Atlantic Alliance declares itself a purely defensive association but holds on to a confrontational bloc mentality. We all know what happened in
Yugoslavia, Libya, Iraq and Syria is the result of NATO's activity over the past 30 years, which has led to numerous human losses. NATO is currently striving to expand its influence in the Asia-Pacific region. Let us not compare the goals of NATO and the goals of the SCO. The SCO is not a military bloc; it is solely a constructive association that works towards common peace and wellbeing, and protecting its space from new threats and challenges. Our organisation makes a constructive contribution to maintaining peace and stability in the entire world. To justify its existence, NATO invents new enemies and considers the strengthening of other countries' economic and military potential to be a threat to its security. If NATO could fundamentally reevaluate its priorities and focus on counteracting the real threats facing mankind, such as terrorism, separatism, extremism, drug trafficking, organised trans-border crime, human trafficking and others, it would be possible to talk about opportunities for substantial interaction between the SCO and NATO."

— Uzbekistan, after receiving the chairmanship from Tajikistan last September, immediately proposed an event-packed agenda.
Zhang Ming: "The Uzbek party has planned a series of events, from the expert level to the ministerial level. Over half of them have been held. In late July, Tashkent will host a meeting of the SCO Foreign Ministers Council, which will adopt the agenda for the meeting of the SCO Heads of State Council and a draft of its main political document, the Samarkand Declaration. As you all know, the meeting of the SCO Heads of State Council will take place in the historic city of Samarkand, an important link of the Silk Road. Participants in the meeting will adopt several documents, including the comprehensive plan for 2023-2027 on the implementation of the terms of the Treaty on Long-Term Neighbourly Relations, Friendship and Cooperation between the SCO Member States.”

http://eng.sectsco.org/news/20220722/906585.html

Posted by: DunGroanin | Aug 13 2022 16:11 utc | 29

It is annoying to be wrong. But acknowledging those rare occasions is part of what separates the stenographers from the journalists. Look at the long, long list of BS MSM has spewed since February, repeating every illogical Ukie claim, without a single full note of retraction that I can remember. Will sometimes mumble something like "maybe this isn't true, who knows?", nothing more.

And they wonder why no one trusts them.

Posted by: muttman | Aug 13 2022 16:22 utc | 30

A dozen of Su-35 will never replace Iranian F-14s and F-4s, in fact they are the most useful and improved aircrafts in the air force inventory with the most improvments and upgrades made on them with weapons such as Fakour-90, a BVR missile which Su-35 export lacks with its 110km max range R77 export version, also F4s can carry their long range anti ship missiles, the F-4s and F-14s are the last aircrafts Iran would remove from its air force.

What a dozen of Su-35 would replace are the Mirages and F-7N, F-5s which are just eating maintenance money for nothing.

24 Su-35 would be 3 billions of $ and as far as i know the maintenance cost is huge for such a big aircraft, with that money Iran could get much better from Russia than 24 of the same fighter jet, like a standardization of current Iran obsolete MiG-29 9.12 to MiG-29M, this gives them an updated fleet, Iran would probably look to study its airframe and the best thing they could ask from Russia would be a transfer of technology of jet engine like the RD-33 MiG-29 uses.

Iran doesn't need agressor jets like the Su-35, i guess their first need is to protect their airspace from a potential attack, they already have an arsenal of missiles and drones to strike, light and medium fighters does this job well, an heavyweight like the Su-35 would be counterproductive for Iran

And given its cost, they could focus on production of their drones

I find it irritating that western propaganda outlets are always comparing Iran drones to US ones or pointing out that everything is a copy of an Us drones or whatever, they seem to not be able to believe Iranians actually got brains just like everyone. Demonization of Russia and Iran.

To mention also, 4 months ago we had claims from TheGuardian that Iran sent air defence systems to Russia, which of course we never saw.

Posted by: Lucas | Aug 13 2022 16:36 utc | 31

thanks b.... good stuff! iran and russia need to be trading and interacting with one another.... this is all good, although the sanctions regime won't look at it this way...

Posted by: james | Aug 13 2022 16:42 utc | 32

Direct blow to Turkey praising it's Bayraktar! Turkey will use western money to open a factory of it's drone in ukraine. The Bayraktar drones are becoming obsolete and the Iranian drones are now the favorites!

Posted by: Virgile | Aug 13 2022 16:43 utc | 33

@Petri Krohn #23:

The leading edge 10 nm and 7 nm semiconductor fabrication technologies are only needed for the latest mobile consumer products. Military and space technology is more likely to be produced by older 200 nm fabs.

I agree, with one exception: various military applications of computer vision algorithms (object identification/object classification). Those require modern processors with built-in GPUs/NPUs and huge amounts of RAM.

Posted by: S | Aug 13 2022 16:48 utc | 34

It is reasonable to assume that the war is going to become more one of movement now that the static Kievan defence line is crumbling. Air drone reconnaisance will become even more important and a supplementary source of long distance equipment is good sense. In this case it is also good economics and good politics.
It is worth noting that for some years the US has been worrying about the growing development of Iranian missile technology especially shore based anti-ship missiles. Iran has been helped for many years in this field by the Chinese who have been Iranian allies since just after the 1979 Islamic revolution - longer than Russia. Perhaps we are seeing indirect Chinese help for Russia as well in this case.
Altogether a judicious move.

Posted by: Theophilus | Aug 13 2022 16:49 utc | 35

@moaobserver

the use of Iranian drones would not compromise the secrets of the more advanced models of Russian drones, as any drones shot down over UKR airspace would be sent to NATO immediately for examination.

The Iranian drones meanwhile are already a known quantity to NATO, therefore they can be used more freely at the front.

That is the deepest and clearest analysis of the drone deal. Also, it avoid the pissing contest over which country has better drone technology. My hunch is that Russia has a great lead in jet engines but Iran's may cost less. Russia had to re-start small jet engine technology which had been based in the Ukraine. Also, we know Iran has great AI robotics, which they may or may not be putting into drones which could, as moaobserver noted, be subject to capture and reverse engineering.

Posted by: JessDTruth | Aug 13 2022 17:00 utc | 36

Perhaps and hopefully these drones are not only shooters, not only for military activity, not only for surveillance and destruction. Perhaps they can also be useful in a general civilian way for delivery.

Posted by: HelenB | Aug 13 2022 17:01 utc | 37

Iran, Sudan, what's the difference?

- average American

Posted by: Michigan Dude | Aug 13 2022 17:02 utc | 38

Lucas / 31

50 units SU 35 for the 3 Billion is a more reasonable estimate - you are using US prices for the F 35 for your calculation

Posted by: Peter Camenzind | Aug 13 2022 17:14 utc | 39

I wonder how President Crash Test Dummy is receiving this news that Ukraine is selling drones to Russia!

Biden confuses Iran and Ukraine in State of the Union gaffe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFkSJDAazAw

Posted by: ak74 | Aug 13 2022 17:15 utc | 40

Respect for the Mea Culpa and setting the standards for honest journalism.

I posted this in the last thread, but since it is much more relevant to this article i will repost:

https://static.rusi.org/RUSI-Silicon-Lifeline-final-updated-web_0.pdf

Obvious caveats being a Western produced OSINT document, though having read through it seems well sourced, citing unexploded munition recovered as evidence. Of course, there is always the possibility they are lying, or even that Russia intentionally made those munitions fail as counter intelligence.. make yourself appear weak, Sun Tsu 4D chess kinda thing...

IMHO, as often happens, the truth is most likely somewhere between the fanboy 'mighty Russia' narratives and 'Russia is doomed without Western tech' pro-NATO bs, with at least some veracity to both arguments. 8 years is a short time to develop complex technologies that were outsourced presumably due to their very unfamiliar nature and lack of domestic competence in the field. One need to look at the way the US is lagging in Hypersonic tech as the prime example how these things do take time.

Perhaps the fact Russia did indeed buy drones from Iran is proof that even mighty Russia can do with outside help from time to time....

Posted by: Et Tu | Aug 13 2022 17:16 utc | 41

This article, as well as b’s original post points out two important issues in this conflict. One is the absurd hypocrisy and contradictions in the West’s psyops against the Russians and the Iranians. The second is the evident increased bifurcation of the world’s countries which is an indicator of this conflict progressing into a full fledged world war.

NATO from it’s premise is designed as an imperial alliance that utilizes the collective resources to gang up on target countries with a type of self proclaimed entitlement of “goodness” as it’s mission to defeat “evil”. The basis of this assumption is racist and imperial, that utilizes a well brainwashed and overworked population to accept the assumptions of this myth.

By accusing target peoples of evil, and then using already propagated fears to further isolate those targeted nations, NATO encourages more wasteful spending on military hardware continues the cycle of hate, destruction, and misdirected resources around the planet.

By getting even neutral observers such as b to react to stupid accusations is a triumph of their initial asinine initial assumptions. While the countries of NATO take pride in attempting to impoverish and starve target countries like Serbia, Libya, Afghanistan, Russia and Iran, attempts of targeted countries to take mutually beneficial action is accorded further evidence of evil.

On a larger scale NATO can avoid responsibility of such alliances being created by NATO’s own stupidity. One such outcome is the unification of the Eurasia, IE Russia, China, Iran and others, as a response to the aggression of a continued NATO aggression across the planet. I recall, following the 2014 Nazi Coup in the Ukraine by Ms Nuland and Co, my comment to a non-political friend that this will result in a powerful alliance between Russia and China. My friend thought this made a lot of sense for this type of response. While this was evident to casual “unqualified” observers like ourselves, through continued propaganda, the NATO idiots have been able to side step their responsibility for their actions. Additionally, they have increased their positions of power and continue their destructive behavior. However, it's not a coincidence that nearly 90% of the American population (Gallop Poll) now believes that the US news is essentially BS.

The second and more ominous consequence evidenced by the Iranian weapons trade is the increased indicator of how this conflict is taking on more of a resemblance to a full fledged world war. Without saner and more intelligent heads in charge within the West I am not optimistic.

IMHO the assumptions of the West are suicidal for us all.

Posted by: MIchael.j | Aug 13 2022 17:17 utc | 42

Speaking of retractions, CBS recently removed a video falsely claiming that supplies being sent to Ukraine were mostly being stolen. Luckily the Ukrainians caught the error and got CBS to remove the video.

original is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCu4klafHKw
more info: https://news.antiwar.com/2022/08/08/cbs-removes-documentary-on-ukraine-military-aid-after-pressure-from-ukrainian-government/

https://consortiumnews.com/2022/08/12/caitlin-johnstone-ukraine-gets-cbs-to-retract-critical-report/

Posted by: farm ecologist | Aug 13 2022 17:26 utc | 43

I am delighted to tell everyone that b is not the only journalist capable of admitting his reporting errors.

CBS recently put out a video falsely claiming that supplies sent to Ukraine were mostly being stolen rather than delivered to the front. Luckily, the Ukrainians caught the error and got CBS to pull the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCu4klafHKw

https://consortiumnews.com/2022/08/12/caitlin-johnstone-ukraine-gets-cbs-to-retract-critical-report/

Posted by: farm ecologist | Aug 13 2022 17:32 utc | 44

B., we can all forgive you for this one error. Just don't let it happen again. ; >)

Posted by: Rob | Aug 13 2022 17:34 utc | 45

@Petri Krohn 23

Industrial electronics tends towards larger feature sizes for greater resilience, noise immunity etc. One can still buy e.g. 80x86 computers for industrial/automation purposes.

Posted by: Johan Meyer (2) | Aug 13 2022 17:42 utc | 46

Posted by: Petri Krohn | Aug 13 2022 15:57 utc | 23

In fact, the a $100 smartphone is likely to contain more precessing power and memory than all the smart munitions fired by Russia at Ukraina combined.

The implications of the above statement is that RF can easily circumvent any western sanctions by travelling to the West, buying retail cell phones, shipping them back to RF, scavenging the processor, and placing it on a dedicated circuit board to obtain the desired military functions.

If they simply patched into the existing circuit board traces they might be able to retain some of the existing functionality; as the missile nosed toward the intended target it could send a less than complementary twitter message to Joe Tzu: Джо Цзы пошел на хуй.

Posted by: Sushi | Aug 13 2022 17:45 utc | 47

Posted by: Et Tu | Aug 13 2022 17:16 utc | 41

8 years is a short time to develop complex technologies that were outsourced presumably due to their very unfamiliar nature and lack of domestic competence in the field.

China's SMIC is already producing 7 nm chips.
SOURCE
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-21/china-s-top-chipmaker-makes-big-tech-advances-despite-us-curbs

I suspect China will seek to innovate in the area of CPUs likely seeking to fashion something similar to ARM (Intel's chip i386 designs are reaching a dead end). This will strengthen the commercial and strategic relationship between RF and China. Both have an interest in leading edge technology without the current NSA back-doors and kill switches.

Posted by: Sushi | Aug 13 2022 17:57 utc | 48

@S #34
Fortunately Russia already banned crypto mining, so there should be plenty of GPUs now available for other uses.

And that assumes even minor anti-machine vision tactics will render that entire field, worthless

Posted by: c1ue | Aug 13 2022 18:09 utc | 49

Indian punch line correctly predicted this.

Posted by: Calgary Guy | Aug 13 2022 18:14 utc | 50

Posted by: Petri Krohn | Aug 13 2022 15:57 utc | 23

It was astonishing how archaic were microprocessors for Boeing 737. Closed system with efficient algorithms and programs need rather modest "computing power", it is artificial idiocy of apps etc. that requires power in smartphones and laptops. But Boeing exaggerated with sticking to an ancient microprocessors that could not integrate extra three input streams (mind you, how many times per second you need to enter sensor signal and output the controlling signals, we are not talking about video games with 3D graphics).
---------------------
The implications of the above statement is that RF can easily circumvent any western sanctions by travelling to the West, buying retail cell phones, shipping them back to RF, scavenging the processor, and placing it on a dedicated circuit board to obtain the desired military functions.

If they simply patched into the existing circuit board traces they might be able to retain some of the existing functionality; as the missile nosed toward the intended target it could send a less than complementary twitter message to Joe Tzu: Джо Цзы пошел на хуй.

Posted by: Sushi | Aug 13 2022 17:45 utc | 46

If it were so simple, car manufacturers would adapt low end smartphone chips and not to suffer from the chip shortage.

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Aug 13 2022 18:23 utc | 51

To be honest I also didn't think Russia would purchase foreign drones. Not that I was underestimating Iranian capabilities. I thought the Orlan, Orion and Okhotnik to name a few were sufficiently advanced but when comparing the stats they're not at the top. He who wants all will have nothing and it's impossible to excel at everything. Russia also doesn't have a perpetual money printer like the US does. But this perpetual printer is breaking down which is why the US needs to goad so many countries into a war with China and Russia. Another advantage of Russia buying Iranian armaments is getting them closer on its side in the economic war where the EU and the US desperately need more energy suppliers on the market to reduce reliance on Russia but so far Russia that has been building strong relations with many of these antagonized energy producers (Venezuela, Iran, Haftar's Libya to a certain extent, Algeria) is reaping the benefits.

Posted by: xor | Aug 13 2022 18:25 utc | 52

@c1ue #24
You need to ease off on the koolaid. What I said was that Iran's economy had time to restructure in that timeframe and Russia can too, just not on the short term.

Posted by: gerimov | Aug 13 2022 18:46 utc | 53

@ xor | Aug 13 2022 18:25 utc | 51 who wrote
"
...
Russia also doesn't have a perpetual money printer like the US does.
...
"

Now that Russia is decoupling from the limitations of the Western private money printer, it has as much ability to print money as the physical and human resources of its country allow.

The decoupling of Russia instantiated by the Ukraine conflict is birthing a global alternative to the Western privately controlled money machine and I expect China to join that movement soon....as well as Iran, etc.

It is a fascinating time to be alive.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Aug 13 2022 18:48 utc | 54

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Aug 13 2022 18:23 utc | 50

Never claimed it would be simple.

Car mfg face commercial profit contraint. They also lack the depth of required expertise.

A military agency faced with the necessity of sanctions explicitly intended to hobble military capabilities will not face a profitablity contraint and is more likely to have the means to access the required technical expertise.

China's current 7nm process represents such a workaround, a kludge, or hack, intended to circumvent China being denied advanced DUV technology. Despite these sanctions, China demonstrates the technical know how to innovate around the US imposed barriers.

Before China did it the tech heads said it could not be done. Where there is a will there will found be a way; if your civilization is put under threat by the gwailou that is a motive far more powerful than the calculus of profit. In short, never under-estimate the capacity of your enemy; the one who will end up hurt may be you - as the SMO has clearly demonstrated.

Posted by: Sushi | Aug 13 2022 19:25 utc | 55

The fact that the Iranians are able to export 1,000 of their drones is a pretty good sign that they have plenty left over to deal with the Israelis and the Americans. Let's hope that they also have enough missiles as well.

Posted by: Sam Smith | Aug 13 2022 19:33 utc | 56

Showing appreciation … will Iran join SCO?

Russia launches Iranian Khayyam satellite

A Soyuz-2.1b rocket sent the satellite into orbit from the Moscow-controlled Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Iran plans to commission three more versions of a satellite launched this week by Russia, Tehran's government spokesman said.

Head of Iran's Space Agency, Hassan Salarieh said the Khayyam is designed to meet Iran's needs for "crisis and urban management, natural resources, mines, agriculture and so on." The Khayyam was built by the Russians under Iran's supervision.

Posted by: Oui | Aug 13 2022 19:37 utc | 57

I TOLD YOU SO

Posted by: A.z | Aug 13 2022 19:39 utc | 58

Sorry, but 1000 drones is too much. Considering 360 US Predator have been manufactured (and they are used by no less than five countries), I think the number is too optimistic. So far only a maximum of 40 Shahed 129's have been built. Such an order would take so long to be fulfilled that they will be obsolete by the time they are delivered.
Additionally, Russia is building a couple of advanced drones of their own which will be operational in one-two years and will surpass the Iranian ones in every aspect. Wikipedia (I know, I know!) states that Russia ordered 46 drones from Iran and a few have already been delivered (probably from IRGC stock) and are already operational in Ukraine. I tend to find this more credible.

As for the chips. The number one reason for military chip technology to lag behind the latest phone tech is reliability. All chips used in weapons systems are what they call Military Spec. These are tested to be resilient at much higher temperatures, radiation shielded, pressure, and be able to stand incredible amounts of acceleration (G's). Imagine shooting a phone inside a Khinzal missile! For example, make a CPU stand high levels of radiation, apart from shielding, you must throttle down its performance to make it more resilient to radiation induced noise.

Posted by: CPY | Aug 13 2022 19:44 utc | 59

Good post, b.
Your ability and willingness to correct your occasional errors is what keeps MoA at the top of my list of Trustworthy Sources. The 'Christian West' shot its credibility in both feet when it launched the Fake War On Terror/Islam, for "Israel" in 2001, based on a pack of lies.

On the other hand, it's only common sense to correct one's mistakes when more facts emerge...

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Aug 13 2022 19:47 utc | 60

Merci
pour vos analyses et votre honnêteté

Un analyste chinois, Wang Sichuun, avait analysé dans un titre "Les drones iraniens peuvent-ils changer la guerre dans l'est de l'Ukraine ?" les manques de la Fédération de Russie et les atouts de ceux de la République islamique d'Iran en la matière.
Sa lecture est bénéfique.

La traduction automatique du mandarin simplifié vers le français, en ce qui me concerne,manque de précision mais est intelligible.

https://m.guancha.cn/WangShiChun/2022_07_17_649680.shtml

Posted by: taj | Aug 13 2022 19:57 utc | 61

Le texte de Wang Sichuun date du 17 juillet 2022.

Posted by: taj | Aug 13 2022 19:59 utc | 62

pretty forgiving of the iranians as russia has hung them out to dry several times in syria vis a vis "israel's" incursions and attacks on IRGC personnel.

otherwise not too surprising as the iranians have been doing fun stuff with drones for a while. i've always seen offensive/armed drones as a sign of modernist cowardice but whatever. level playing fields are usually a good thing.

Posted by: the pair | Aug 13 2022 20:00 utc | 63

Good form with your correction/update. What I see is Russia using some of its additional revenues from the sanctions and sharing them with Iran through this long-term drone purchase contract to further stimulate their trade in national currencies that also serves to stimulate Iran's industry--Win-Win--and paid for by the West, making the deal even tastier.

Posted by: karlof1 | Aug 13 2022 20:01 utc | 64

@17 William Gruff: Well said. Russia - Iran is a great match. They seem to get along, have some cultural similarities, similar geopolitical interests, and they both bring a lot of talent to the table. I expect them to continue to develop together.

@18 maoobserver: sharp analysis. Russia has tried very hard to keep its tech lead items under wraps until they're absolutely needed. Your theory fits their M.O.

@25 c1ue: Can you cite some refs or expound a bit more on how Iran eloped with the U.S. drone? I always wondered how much learning curve they had to climb to get it done. What else can you report on that event?

In general, the Russia-Iran relationship has a great deal of run-room. I think Iran is very, very much underestimated here in the West.

Posted by: Tom Pfotzer | Aug 13 2022 20:01 utc | 65

Being wrong is not a big deal. Admitting it is a big deal. It shows character. A lot of people just don't have that.

Posted by: Mike from Jersey | Aug 13 2022 20:04 utc | 66

It is a feign… Russia will in the end get a few dozen drones and then the order will be cancelled. It is probably being made as a cover for the numerous cargo flights being made between Russia and Iran.

Posted by: MapleLeaf | Aug 13 2022 20:10 utc | 67

"What will Iran buy from Russia in exchange for the drones?"

I don't know but my guess is that it will be related to Lavrov's quip in May, 2022, about Hitler having Jewish blood, and Putin's subsequent non-apology apology to Nakbali Bennet.

Putin recently hinted that Russia will demonstrate a new super-duper weapon before the end of 2022. My hope is that "Israel" will be led to believe that Iran has acquired enough of these devices to persuade "Israel" and Amerikkka to STFU about Iran and its Imaginary Nukes.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Aug 13 2022 20:23 utc | 68

... The Iranian drones meanwhile are already a known quantity to NATO, therefore they can be used more freely at the front.

Posted by: moaobserver | Aug 13 2022 15:51 utc | 18

An interesting and plausible conjecture ... in addition to the worthy post from our host.

Posted by: anon2020 | Aug 13 2022 20:25 utc | 69

All the allies of Russia are being taken down and Russia does not dare do anything. Be it in Donbass, or Syria where lavrov invited Americans, or Libya or North Korea or even near like in Armenia.
Russian allies are being killed. Soon Russia will be alone without allies.
Then hyenas will attack russia militarily. They have been attacking Russia economically, diplomatically and taking her away from her potential allies.
Putin is clueless or coward and backstabbers. Those backing him argue that Russia has no responsibility to protect her allies.
Then remember that no body will weep when Russia will be destroyed from within traitors and outside propaganda by current non nuclear war. Nuke will be useless to protect Russia who has shown herself to be coward reluctant even in countering current cold to semi hot War attacks.

Posted by: Soi | Aug 13 2022 20:34 utc | 70

Here is some more information:
"Ukrainian officials confirmed that Russia is using Iranian-provided drones in Ukraine. Advisor to the Ukrainian President’s Office, Oleksiy Arestovych, stated on August 5 that Iran handed 46 drones over to Russia and that the Ukrainian government has already noted the use of these drones in combat in Ukraine.
At least a portion of the provided drones are older-generation “Shahed 129” heavy strike drones, which Russian forces may seek to use to attack US-provided HIMARS in Ukraine.
It is unclear whether the 46 drones represent all the drones that Tehran has agreed to send, or the number of Iranian drones that are currently operating in Ukraine."
Source: https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-august-5

Posted by: Mikkado | Aug 13 2022 20:38 utc | 71

This one way you develop and learn interoperability with potential allies’ equipment and systems. In a similar vein, North Korea sending troops gives them real-life combat experience against Western equipment and, perhaps, Western SOF in Ukraine.

Russia doesn’t need these things immediately, but they’ll be useful as the war widens.

Posted by: Cato the Uncensored | Aug 13 2022 20:47 utc | 72

Irony: Russia uses Iranian drones to take out a Turkish Bayraktar production facility in Ukraine.

40 Iranian cargo flights to Russia (and Syria) between 27 March 2022 and 12 July 2022

Posted by: Arfur Mo | Aug 13 2022 21:17 utc | 73

Soi@69
Russia has never been less isolated. It has never had more allies. Look at the countries begging to join BRICS or the SCO. Lift your head up and look at the real world.

Posted by: bevin | Aug 13 2022 21:19 utc | 74

Your public admission of error is a noble and scholarly act our beloved b! Such a gesture, to my mind, displays greatness of spirit and the soul of generosity. It only makes me respect you more. If our 'elected' leaders had a fraction of your integrity we wouldn't be in the mess we're in. Only the weak, petty, insecure and vain cannot bear to be wrong—can anyone here imagine the Guardian saying "we got the whole last 6 months wrong"?

Posted by: Patroklos | Aug 13 2022 21:29 utc | 75

Sturnus vulgaris is my favorite bird to eat, that is way smaller then any Crow.
As long as you admit your mistakes "eating crow" is not needed🤷‍♂️

Posted by: Per/Norway | Aug 13 2022 21:49 utc | 76

#43, farm ecologist: Your "delighted" comparison is incorrect. First, you state that CBS put "false claims" in a video. CBS didn't say/admit they were "false." CBS in no way "admitted reporting errors," merely said it "updated" its report to reflect changes since April, and that a US Brig. Gen. would "monitor" things. You say "Ukrainians caught the error." It's physically impossible for Ukr to "catch" anything, much less to make a public announcement to that effect unless it had been instructed to do so by its owners, the US gov. Ukraine is a US colony, has been since at least 2014 when US violently overthrew Ukr's elected government and began 8 years of shooting innocent civilians in E Ukr. Perhaps you've never heard of Syria which the US flooded with weapons that were then sold on black market and shipped all over.

Posted by: susan mullen | Aug 13 2022 21:53 utc | 77

I expect this is relevant

Exclusive exhibit of Iranian products to be held in Russia next month
https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/475580/Exclusive-exhibit-of-Iranian-products-to-be-held-in-Russia-next

Posted by: watcher | Aug 13 2022 21:54 utc | 78

To all the electronics discussionistas here, i posted a article about a new Russian super computer over in the Saker newsfeed.

Posted by: Per/Norway | Aug 13 2022 21:55 utc | 79

So they bought 1000 over the next 10 years or they got or bought 46 or nothing, nobody official said anything so far. And probably never will. Does Russia need these? Who cares, every drug gang and their uncle has a need for them, why would the new super power Russia not import as many as they can. If the DIJ consumer stuff from China is useful to the Ukrainian infantry and Turkey is booked out.. Why wouldn't they order whatever they can. Every company on the ground could use their own. If the whole front is covered, let them fly inland checking what is coming on the roads and train tracks.. The century of the air carrier is over, the drones wars have just begun..

Posted by: OnTopic | Aug 13 2022 22:01 utc | 80

There is a higher-level intention with this sale by the Islamic Republic of Iran and purchase by the Russian Federation of technologically sophisticated UAVs. Russia may in fact have the technological and manufacturing capability to design and produce such UAVs, but by procuring them from Iran, a signal is sent to the woke-fascist West that another node of the Eurasian-World Alliance (in this case, the Iranian) is just as strong as any other. The woke-fascist West likes to probe for weakness in opposing alliances, hoping to split them apart. This deal is a political message as well as a technological and military one: there is no weaker member of the Alliance, and with every passing day, the threads of reciprocal cooperation and support grow ever more robust.

Posted by: Xavier | Aug 13 2022 22:11 utc | 81

Posted by: susan mullen | Aug 13 2022 21:53 utc | 76

You're absolutely right, of course, and I regret that you misread my sarcasm for sincerity. Perhaps I should have added "/s" at the end, but I thought that wouldn't be necessary around here. My bad.

Posted by: farm ecologist | Aug 13 2022 22:28 utc | 82

#43, farm ecologist: Your "delighted" comparison is incorrect.

Posted by: susan mullen | Aug 13 2022 21:53 utc | 76

I took farm ecologist's post to be facetious.

Posted by: David Levin | Aug 13 2022 22:35 utc | 83

William Gruff #17

I have to admit that I am quite excited to see how Iranian drones perform at denazification. I doubt they will really change the course of the conflict much but it will be fascinating to see Iranian tech in large scale action.

Thank you, I suspect they will make a large contribution to battlefield monitoring to the extent of getting accurate target data for artillery locations. It seems that suppression of the aggressor's artillery is the key to who wins and how fast they can achieve that.

The other impact will be on the illegal occupier of Palestine. This is a major kick in the rs for them. Expect much wailing and gnashing of teeth for the next year or two. The repugnants will be desperately insane and once they achieve a majority in November there will be a rash of pathetic legislation to 'trump' the imminent neocon frenzy in response.

Nothing for the US citizens again as the fake play staggers on.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Aug 13 2022 22:50 utc | 84

Not very convincing about the 1000 drones...or any of it to be honest. Now those electronic components are interesting. It became standard practice since at least the 90's if not before to build military systems with off the shelf components whenever possible. So of course Russia did the same thing every American and European designer did...they filled up on inexpensive Asian made chips. But they always knew that was a danger so there are many other options that have been developed, especially over the last decade. Here is niiet in Voronezh. They make many of these deeply embedded microprocessors, micro controllers, signal processors and adc/dac chips.

https://niiet.ru/product-category/chips/

Posted by: nook | Aug 13 2022 23:26 utc | 85

I wanted to post the website for mri-progress.ru because they had a number of interesting micro controllers with bmk sections that can be tailored to tasks but it now denies me access.

Posted by: nook | Aug 13 2022 23:30 utc | 86

An interesting deal. One that benefits both countries,

As for western designed LSI after the 1990s. Most if not all designs. Incorporate open front, backdoors, all windows, cellar access, and attics. All of which have been installed as per USSA government request.

The principal problem is that all Intel clunky CPUs. More useful as silicon PCB heaters(P4+ later models). Come with far too many instruction sets. Optimized for speed test software only.
In reality, a number of these surplus operands also serve as security holes. Examples are the hard microcode Spectre/Meldown security holes dating back to the dawn of the Pentium 3.

Milspec CPUs, usually based on a sapphire substrate operate in a very harsh EM radiation environment. Are tested to eliminate all backdoors. Leaking EM radiatioon can alter the cpu registers, memory, and logic.

One fool boasted the billboard radar from an elderly obsolete rust bucket Arleigh Burke destroyer. Could destroy a majority of non-mil-spec silicon-based equipment. At full radiation emission power.

Russia is by the way saying directly to the bankrupt USSA. We don't care to co-operate with nuclear-armed retards, idiots, those who ignore all signed treaties before the ink has dried, and neo-con imbeciles.

Welcome to the new multipolar world.

Posted by: Bad Deal Motors On | Aug 14 2022 0:11 utc | 87

Posted by b at 14:40 UTC | Comments (86)
What are the odds? Both threads at 86 comments simultaneously, until this one.

Posted by: bevin | Aug 14 2022 0:44 utc | 88

B, no problem on the "error". Hope this helps.

http://www.crowbusters.com/recipes.html

Posted by: daffyDuct | Aug 14 2022 0:57 utc | 89

And there is nothing wrong with that. It is a good way to start building a partnership. The U.S. does the same thing. I hear people claim that the U.S. benefits from Israeli modifications of our weapons. Iran has many STEM graduates, a potential R&D center for Russia.

Posted by: Christian Chuba | Aug 14 2022 1:02 utc | 90

This August 9 report at indiapunchline is worth reading in conjunction with this post.
https://www.indianpunchline.com/russia-turkey-reset-eases-regional-tensions/

It provides a wider dimension to the strategic development.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Aug 14 2022 1:15 utc | 91

Crying. Russia needs Iran to help out against NATO. Tears. So sad. How many days before Russia joins the U.S. against China? Oh me oh my. Just so very tragic, these geopolitics, as if the ecosphere can afford our stupid monkeyshines. That will leave China Zimbabwe and North Korea as its reliable partners. Or maybe China should move on Taiwan? Go on. Go on. Devil mantle in the doom theater. Yet, a bit more crow the whole six months of mocking the very idea of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. There is no right side, but Russia and China moved too soon and all wrong though it may all be foul theater. Absurd. Humanity is in reach of limitless wealth in every hand and we are frittering it all away so inelegantly. We had millennia of rule by moronic hocus-pocus, now over a century of mind story trauma programming. Masters the most conditioned. Ah.

Posted by: Ahole | Aug 14 2022 2:36 utc | 92

"Iran and Russia may want to wait for the outcome of the still ongoing nuclear agreement negotiations before any official deal will be announced. It simply would be unwise to disturb that process now and to give hawks in the U.S. more arguments to let the deal fail."

The deal already has failed even in theory since it's with the US whose perfidy is literally endless. Even as "diplomatic" maneuvering the targets of the empire refuse to burn even their hallucinated bridges. (The US of course unilaterally burned all the real bridges long ago.) They still don't have the inner fortitude to accept that this IS WWIII and that the options are to fight or be completely subjugated.

That's the only way it's possible to engage in the mode of insanity of trying over and over to repeat these "negotiations" with the empire and expect a different result.

Posted by: Flying Dutchman | Aug 14 2022 4:48 utc | 93

It is not clear that Russia really needs large, long-loiter drones in mopping up the Donbass -- but once the Donbass is secure and turns its attentions to the north, they could be useful. The RF has newer drones in the making but if they want to finish the SMO this winter and de-seat Zelensky those drones will be helpful. I am sure that the Russians have experience with them, from Syria. In addition, the deal underscores Iran's inclusion in Russia's alliance with China and the ascendancey of BRICS.

Posted by: julianmacfarlane | Aug 14 2022 5:06 utc | 94

We're in August, right?

Posted by: Maracatu | Aug 14 2022 5:13 utc | 95

https://m.guancha.cn/WangShiChun/2022_07_17_649680.shtml

Posted by: taj | Aug 13 2022 19:57 utc | 60

Don't be lazy. Just copy and paste the link into Edge browser to get auto English translation from original Chinese article on China's premier think tank. Russia is NOT super in everything and is in fact a new comer to drone warfare. Their long endurance recon+armed drones won't be off the production line until end of 2022.
This article explains why Russia is unable to stop the shoot and scoot Ukie propelled artillery and rocket systems supplied by the west, and literally controlled by them.
Thanks to Taj for the link.

Posted by: Surferket | Aug 14 2022 5:23 utc | 96

Russia buying UAVs from Iran is a signal to Turkey as is Iranian tanks deploying towards Azerbaijan in support of Armenia

Posted by: Paul Greenwood | Aug 14 2022 5:39 utc | 97

I still remember Trump threatening to bomb monuments that are not only part of Iran's cultural heritage but also probably recognized by UNESCO as world heritage sites. It is a moral duty for Russia and China to help protect those cultural sites by providing Iran with the best anti-missile, anti-aviation systems, be it the S-400, S-500 or whatever.

Posted by: Robert Macaire | Aug 14 2022 6:11 utc | 98

Don't fret. Just about everyone is wrong at some time or another.

(Except me, of course.)

Posted by: RoHa | Aug 14 2022 6:12 utc | 99

On the question of technologies, computer chips and so forth I highly recommend watching the video series Apollo Guidance Computer: Restoring the computer that put man on the Moon . It contains among other things a detailed explanation of the original "core memory" and how it worked in the 1960s doing seriously interesting things with next to no processing power or memory. It provides a unique perspective of things relative to today's mobile phone, with a lot of processing power used to make people dumber and more dependent on an increasingly authoritarian state and mindless corporations.

The processor requirements for drones or missiles are very different from say an iPhone, there is no reason why Iran or Russia can't do that even if they don't yet have the latest chip technology.

Posted by: Norwegian | Aug 14 2022 8:14 utc | 100