Iran’s Drone Program: How the Islamic Republic Exploited Commercial Supply Chains to Reshape Modern Warfare

Iran’s drone program has become a central feature of modern conflict, with systems such as the Shahed-136 deployed across multiple theaters, including Ukraine and the Middle East.

Strider's latest report—Iran's Drone Program: How the Islamic Republic Exploited Commercial Supply Chains to Reshape Modern Warfare—provides a detailed analysis of how Iranian entities leverage front companies, intermediaries, and dual-use technologies sourced from international markets to maintain drone production and distribution.

A central case study in the report examines Pars Aero Institute Kerman, an Iranian drone supplier with documented ties to the country’s military ecosystem. Strider identified relationships between Pars Aero and suppliers in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Hong Kong, including companies that are partners of U.S.-sanctioned entities for ties to the People’s Liberation Army. As of the report’s publication, the entities detailed in Strider’s report—Pars Aero, Foxtech Hobby Co. Ltd., and Huixinghai Technology (Tianjin) Co. Ltd.—were not found on any U.S. or allied sanctioned lists.

The report also details how the mix of domestic assembly and foreign sourcing helps Iran sustain production, replace restricted parts, and scale exports to partners and proxies despite sanctions pressure. Oftentimes, the path from a foreign manufacturer to an Iranian assembly line runs through a deliberately constructed network. In a submission to G7 governments in 2023, Ukraine identified the primary transshipment corridor for these components as Turkey, India, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Costa Rica, with the UAE also emerging as a particularly significant re-export hub. Components move through this corridor via front companies and commercial channels designed to obfuscate their origin and end use. 

The full Iran's Drone Program: How the Islamic Republic Exploited Commercial Supply Chains to Reshape Modern Warfare report can be found here.