A group of hackers revealed the database of an Iranian company involved in exchanges with Russia. The documents contain contracts for the manufacture and transfer of drones between Tehran and Moscow.
For more than a year and a half, Russia has been buying kamikaze drones from Iran which it then sends to Ukraine. What is the cost of this massive order? The hacker collective Prana Network may have provided the answer. This group of hackers revealed, at the beginning of February, a database coming from the Iranian company “ IRGC Sahara Thunder », suspected of facilitating the transfer of arms from Iran to Russia. Part of the data was shared by the Iranian Cyber News media. All files are available on a site open to all.
According to these documents, Russia plans to manufacture 6,000 Iranian drones within two and a half years. Production was launched in 2022. The total contract price, which includes technology transfer, equipment, 6,000 drone kits and software, is to a whopping 108.5 billion rubles, approximately $1.11 billion euros. The initial cost indicated by Iran for each unit would be approximately 180,000 euros per drone after negotiation. We are far from the 20,000 euros per unit initially estimated by Ukraine. This cost could include the transport of weapons and the transfer of technology.
Kamikaze drones made in Russia
The leak reveals that Russia carries out financial transactions and payments in gold with Iran. In February 2023, the “Alabuga Machinery” organization reportedly transferred 2 tons of gold bars to the Iranian proxy company Sahara Thunder.
Russia is already assembling Iranian-inspired drone models on its own soil. The famous “Shahed-136” became “Geran-2”, and are assembled in one located 800 km from Moscow, in Tatarstan. Production is expected to increase as Russia plunges into a war economy. Furthermore, many components come from Western countries, transported through agents based in the West. A large part of these drones are sent against civilians in Ukraine.
If you liked this article, you will like the following: don’t miss them by subscribing to Numerama on Google News.