Iranian low-cost drones threaten U.S. plans in the Persian Gulf — NYT

Iran’s use of large numbers of Shahed drones poses a critical threat to stability in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. 

According to a March 25 report by The New York Times, Tehran is capable of launching up to 90 drones per day, despite U.S. attempts to destroy its production facilities. The high resilience of the production cycle stems from the ability to assemble the drones using readily available parts in small workshops, making it impossible to completely destroy them with precision strikes.

The main factor behind the effectiveness of Iran’s strategy is economic imbalance: the cost of a single Shahed is about $35,000, while the missiles needed to intercept them cost millions of dollars. This allows for the depletion of the enemy’s air defense systems and creates a constant threat to oil routes. According to analysts, the experience of mass deployment of such drones was previously tested in Russia’s war against Ukraine, where attempts to overwhelm defense systems through the numerical superiority of cheap weapons were also observed.

As a reminder, the U.S. and Iran may hold talks on ending the war on March 26.

Iran has also announced “surprises” for the U.S. and Israel in the coming days.