Iran’s Shahed Drones: How They’re Wreaking Havoc in the Middle East

This is an Iranian shahed. — And these drones have been slipping past the US and allied air defenses across the Middle East. The US says Iran's drone attacks are down 90% from the start of the war. But the drones that Iran is managing to get off have shown to be hard to stop. They've been filmed crashing into buildings, dive bombing airports, and setting off explosions at oil facilities. — There are a few reasons why these cheap shahads are posing such a challenge. First, they're hard to detect. The drones feature a delta- wing configuration, and they're made up of composite materials, which gives them a low radar signature. Second, the drones fly slowly and at low altitudes, sometimes literally under the radars that are pointed up to detect missiles. Third, they're relatively small, just 11 ft long. That means they can be deployed from trucks in large numbers, a move that can overwhelm air defenses. And finally, the drones are so cheap that Iran has thousands of them, potentially more than the US has interceptors. To make matters even more complicated for the US, the Journal has reported that Iran is getting help from Russia, which has used and improved the Shahed during its war in Ukraine. The White House says nothing provided to Iran from other countries is impacting the US military's success, and that Iran's ability to mount attacks has been diminished. But the Shiad attacks keep on coming and they are a key reason why commercial ships won't cross the street of Hormuz and why US allies are weary of trying to reopen the waterway before the shooting stops.