A Russian Kometa-B satellite tv for pc navigation module has been recovered from the Iranian drone that struck RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus on 1 March, offering bodily proof that Moscow is transferring battlefield-tested drone parts to Tehran to be used in opposition to US and allied targets within the Center East.
The identical Kometa-B anti-jamming module was first recognized by Ukrainian air defences in December 2025, inside drones intercepted over Ukraine. Three months later, it appeared within the wreckage of a Shahed-type one-way assault (OWA) drone in Cyprus. British army intelligence despatched the recovered parts to a UK laboratory for additional examination.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged on 17 March that “we’ve got clear proof that Iranian Shaheds used within the area comprise Russian parts.” The Kometa-B discovery substantiates that declare with a forensic path linking a particular Russian subsystem to a particular strike on a Western army set up.
The WSJ Report: Intelligence Sharing and Tactical Steering
The Wall Avenue Journal reported on 17 March that Russia has been offering Iran with satellite tv for pc imagery from the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS), tactical steerage on Shahed drone employment – together with wave sizes and optimum strike altitudes – and knowledge on the places of US services within the Center East and people of Washington’s regional allies.
Sources cited by the WSJ, together with a senior European intelligence officer, confirmed that Moscow has equipped Iran with modified Shahed parts that includes improved communication, navigation, and focusing on capabilities. These modifications have been developed by Russia’s personal use of the drones in Ukraine, the place Moscow has deployed roughly 57,000 Shahed-type programs since 2022.
Russia’s ambassador to London subsequently acknowledged that Russia was “not impartial” and held a “supportive” place towards Iran. The White Home performed down the importance of the cooperation, with a spokesperson claiming that Russian assist is “not affecting our operational success.”
The Bidirectional Pipeline
The Russia-Iran drone relationship was, till not too long ago, framed as a one-directional transaction: Iran bought Shahed blueprints and completed drones to Russia beginning in 2022, and Moscow paid in money and superior army {hardware}. That framing is now outdated.
Russia localized Shahed manufacturing at its Alabuga facility in Tatarstan, which now produces a number of thousand drones per thirty days. By sustained fight use in opposition to Ukrainian air defences – digital warfare (EW) jamming, interceptor drones, cell hearth teams, and traditional short-range air defence (SHORAD) programs – Russia iterated on the Shahed’s navigation accuracy, EW resistance, and focusing on reliability. These diversifications are actually flowing again to Iran.
The pipeline is not transactional. It’s a suggestions loop. Iran offers the baseline platform. Russia stress-tests it in opposition to a number of the most refined and adaptive air defences on the planet. The ensuing enhancements are shared again with Tehran, which deploys them in opposition to US and Gulf targets working beneath a unique – and in some circumstances, much less mature – counter-drone posture.
Iranian International Minister Abbas Araghchi publicly confirmed army cooperation with Russia and China in a March 2026 interview: “We had shut cooperation, which continues to at the present time, and this additionally consists of army help.” In January 2025, the 2 international locations signed a strategic partnership settlement formalizing defence cooperation.
