How to ensure Iranian drones don’t include US components

Excerpt

Even as the United States is sprinting to provide Ukraine with the means to defend itself, American-made components are ending up in Iranian drones that Russia is using to kill Ukrainians and support the Kremlin’s unprovoked invasion. To make matters worse, Tehran and its terror proxies are also using drones containing Western technology to target Americans and our partners in the Middle East.

To address this unacceptable situation, a bipartisan group of House lawmakers last week introduced the Block the Use of Transatlantic Technology in Iranian Made Drones Act of 2023. The bill requires the Commerce Department and State Department to develop and submit to Congress strategies designed to stop the flow of components to Tehran used in the Iranian drones.

For its part, the Pentagon would be required to “develop a range of options that may be employed by the Armed Forces of the United States to counter or otherwise deny Iran the ability to acquire technologies” for its drones.

It is easy to see why Congress is motivated to act. As most know by now, Iran has provided hundreds of drones to Russia for use in Moscow’s war against Ukraine, with evidence of their use on the battlefield first surfacing in September.

In November 2022, the Conflict Armament Research group assessed that 82% of the components in downed Iranian drones and a precision-guided munition of Iranian origin recovered by Ukraine were produced by U.S.-based firms. Additionally, Ukrainian intelligence revealed that a whopping 40 of an estimated 52 components found in a downed Iranian drone were produced by 13 American firms.

Ryan Brobst is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where Bradley Bowman is the senior director of its Center on Military and Political Power and Behnam Ben Taleblu is a senior fellow. Follow Brad on Twitter @Brad_L_Bowman. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.