00:00What if a drone that costs around $30,000 could force a country to spend millions just to shoot one
00:07down?
00:07That's Iran's battlefield advantage.
00:10It's called the Shahid-136, a one-way attack drone, sometimes called a kamikaze drone,
00:16designed to fly into its target and explode on impact.
00:21Each drone costs around $30,000 to $50,000 to make.
00:25It carries roughly 50 kilograms of explosives and can travel up to 2,000 kilometers.
00:31It's not especially fast, it's not especially sophisticated, but it's cheap.
00:37And that's the point.
00:39Iran's strategy isn't perfect precision, it's saturation,
00:43launching dozens, sometimes hundreds at once, to overwhelm air defenses.
00:48Even if most are intercepted, each one forces defenders to use missiles that can cost hundreds of thousands
00:55or even millions of dollars per shot.
00:59Over time, that cost imbalance becomes a weapon in itself.
01:03During recent escalations, UAE authorities to this day say they have detected 941 Iranian drones,
01:10intercepting 876 of them, while 65 fell within the UAE.
01:15Israel has also faced waves of these drones as part of broader attacks.
01:20Even when interception rates are high, it only takes a handful to cause serious damage.
01:25But this isn't new.
01:27Russia has launched more than 60,000 of these Iranian drones against Ukrainian territory,
01:32targeting cities and energy infrastructure.
01:35So the question is, is the Middle East ready to intercept a similar wave?
01:40The UAE Defense Ministry recently stated that the region has strategic reserves of air defense systems
01:47capable of countering aerial threats for a prolonged period.
01:52The spokesperson also added that the UAE will not accept any infringement on its sovereignty
01:58or the safety of its territory.
Comments