Iran Shahed/Mohajer Export Program

Iran's "Shahed/Mohajer Export Program" involves the sale and transfer of Shahed-131, Shahed-136, and Mohajer-6 drones to allied nations and non-state actors, primarily to generate revenue, test combat effectiveness, evade sanctions through local production, and expand geopolitical influence amid international isolation. Priced at an estimated $20,000–$50,000 per unit for Shahed models, these low-cost, mass-producible UAVs—often incorporating Western components like Texas Instruments microcontrollers and GPS modules—enable buyers to conduct surveillance, precision strikes, and loitering munitions attacks. The program leverages Iran's production capacity of around 100 drones monthly, using exports to advertise capabilities globally while supporting proxies in proxy conflicts. Key milestones include early shipments of Mohajer-2 drones to Venezuela in the 2000s, leading to local production by 2013; unveiling of the Mohajer-6 in 2016 with mass production starting in 2018; post-2020 arms embargo expiration deliveries of Mohajer-6 to Venezuela (including a local P071A-007 copy) and Ethiopia in 2021; inauguration of an Ababil-2 factory in Tajikistan in May 2022; and large-scale transfers to Russia from August 2022 onward, with over 300 Shahed-131/136 and Mohajer-6 drones used in Ukraine by October 2022, alongside plans for Russian/Belarusian assembly. Additional exports reached Sudan, Libya, Bolivia, and interest from China, with Russian delegations selecting more models like Shahed-191/129 in late 2022. Strategically, the program disrupts U.S. aerial dominance by proliferating affordable armed drones (Mohajer-6: 12-hour endurance, 200 km/h speed, 100–150 kg payload with guided missiles), bolsters Iran's "Axis of Resistance" through proxies, and uses battlefield data from Ukraine/Russia cooperation—exchanging drones for captured Western weapons—to refine designs. It circumvents UN missile embargoes on drones over 300 km range and U.S. sanctions, positioning Iran as a rising arms exporter while pressuring nuclear negotiations.