>as if the glowniggers didn't supply Ukraine with some Shahed clones so they could run a false flag.
Furthermore, the RFI says that the drone must be a replica of the Iranian drone, a1:1 copy (reverse engineered) of the Shahed 136 suicide drone.
“It needs to meet the form, fit, and function of the Shahed 136 currently being developed and used by Iran. This is to include – Rear-facing propeller with the same size and position characteristics as the Shahed-136, Same Shape/profile, and Same payload capacity.”
However, the RFI has provided relaxation in one crucial area. The drone should be able to fly 50 miles, which is far less than the range of over a thousand miles of Shahed-136, but sufficient for testing purposes.
The Shahed Drones In The Ukraine War
Designed by Iran and mass-produced under license by Russia with substantial modifications, the Shahed-136 drones have emerged as Moscow’s weapon of choice in the Ukraine War.
The drone is not only difficult to detect, but it also enjoys a clear cost advantage. Each piece of this drone costs around US$40,000 to US$50,000; however, the air defense missiles Ukraine uses to intercept them cost millions of dollars per missile.
Notably, Russia also fires dozens of decoys with these drones to confuse and overwhelm Ukrainian air defense systems.
Russia is already producing 5,000 long-range Shahed-136 drones every month. The Yelabuga factory alone is believed to have produced over 18,000 drones in the first six months of 2025.
However, analysts warn that Russia can further scale its drone production in the coming months.
Security analysts warn that behind Russia’s dramatic increase in daily drone attacks lies a calculated strategy of breaking the morale of the Ukrainian armed forces, terrorising the civilian population, and breaking the Western support for Kyiv.
The ISW assessed that the drone attacks are meant to psychologically exhaust Ukraine and erode Western support.
Similarly, a new report by the Lowy Institute warns that with President Vladimir Putin frustrated by a stalled summer offensive, his focus has turned to breaking Western and Ukrainian morale with barrages of drone strikes at civilian targets.
According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), “Russia’s relentless use of low-cost drones signals a broader shift toward attrition warfare based on overwhelming air defense systems with sheer numbers. Western governments must innovate in economical defenses and tackle Chinese technology flows fueling Russian drone production.”
While effective against ballistic missiles, using multi-million-dollar Patriot interceptors to shoot down Shahed-136 drones worth only tens of thousands of dollars is economically unsustainable.
It appears that the next frontier in this technological race is the development of cheap and scalable drone interceptors, and the USAF is also trying to build these counter-UAS (cUAS) systems.
The RFI for procuring replicas of Iranian Shahed-136 drones is meant to test the USAF’s cUAS systems’ efficiency and success against these drones. However, the RFI also underlines how the cheap Iranian-designed drones have transformed the Ukraine war and caught the attention of militaries all over the world.
https://www.eurasiantimes.com/usaf-wants-iranian-shahed-136-drones/