Iran's Experts Rely on Chinese and Russian Technology for Drone and Missile Accuracy

Iran has reached new levels of precision in its drone and missile capabilities by relying on Chinese and Russian-made guidance chips connected to satellite systems, according to analysts and defense officials to The National.

Leveraging technology invented in Britain almost half a century ago has allowed Iran to use imported satellite chips to significant advantage on its missiles and drones. The development marks a significant shift in Tehran's offensive capabilities, with experts warning the Iran war shows a level of accuracy previously not associated with the country's weaponry.

Western security sources also said there was a "high probability" that Iranian targeting experts were based at Russian satellite ground stations that received precise location information.

The key to this progress is a special computer chip designed for advanced navigation systems, which is placed in Iran's Shahed drones and ballistic missiles.

Iranian engineers have managed to combine satellite-linked guidance with Controlled Reception Pattern Antenna (CRPA) technology, allowing the weapon to withstand interference and maintain its direction even in an environment full of electronic conflicts. The result, according to experts, is "precision-guided" targeting capabilities.

"CRPA allows drones and missiles to filter out interference signals and lock on to the original satellite data," a Western official said, as reported by The National (28/4).

"That means they can stay on target even in heavily defended airspace. This is a capability that, until recently, was largely limited to more advanced military forces," he said.

Meanwhile, defense analyst Robert Tollast from the RUSI think tank described this shift as a key moment in Iran's military capabilities.

"CRPA is very important because the antenna is very important, giving the drone the ability to hit certain buildings and significantly reducing their vulnerability to electronic warfare. This is a big change for Iran," Tollast explained.

He added that Iran's long-standing alliance with Russia, which led to Tehran supplying Moscow with Shahed drones now being fired en masse at Ukraine, had greatly helped Iran's military development.

Recent attacks on US air bases and key locations across the Gulf have highlighted Iran's ability to hit targets within a few meters.

This shows a "dramatic improvement," Tollast said, compared to Iran's previous system, which was inconsistent and had a wide margin of error.

The Mullah's country is known to have launched more than 4,550 Shahed-136 kamikaze drones during the conflict that broke out along with the US and Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28.

A significant attack that demonstrated the accuracy was the massive attack on Prince Sultan airbase near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, earlier last month.

It is believed that up to 30 Shahed drones and six ballistic missiles were fired with high precision, hitting the highly prized E-3 AWACS early warning reconnaissance aircraft right on its radar turn.

Five other KC-135 refueling tankers were heavily damaged and 12 US personnel were injured, raising questions about the US ability to defend itself against more accurate attacks.

Iran has previously demonstrated its increased accuracy with a salvo of 30 missiles on Israel's Nevatim airbase, hitting runways, hangars and buildings during the October 2024 attack.

Bleddyn Bowen, a professor of astropolitics at Durham University, who is an expert in space warfare, pointed to China providing the BeiDou technology that gives access to its independent global satellite navigation system and gives Iran accurate positioning and timing in all weather.

"It would be very helpful for Iran's targeting system if they used Chinese chips and the BeiDou system, which is good, or the Russian Glonass system (less effective)," he said.

While Matt Archer, director of launches at the UK Space Agency, indicated he was limited in what he could say, he suspected Iran's greater accuracy came from better satellite guidance.

"Every type of ballistic object requires good navigation, and I have no doubt that Iran has the ability to accurately target," he explained.

He also indicated that Russia and China were likely to play a role.

"It's a bit surprising, the accuracy they have against American air bases, which is incredible," he said.

He added that it shows "the importance of understanding what space-based assets exist and what capabilities are possible on the ground," especially in conflict.

Military sources fear Iran's advances will change the regional calculus for air defense because "accuracy changes everything," a military source said.

"When you can reliably hit a certain runway, hangar, or command center, you move from a symbolic attack to an operationally decisive attack," the source said.

"That is a different level of risk for anyone who is within range," he added.

Although there has been no official confirmation of China and Russia's role, there has been an increase in military cooperation between Tehran, Beijing and Moscow.

Dr. Bowen stated that satellite connectivity is seen as important in providing the real-time position data needed for high-accuracy strikes.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Russia had given them satellite data and of course Russia can give them BDA (battle damage assessment)," he said.

"Iran needs to assess their own battle damage to know, did we hit this barracks in Bahrain? Do we need to attack that target again? Did the attack succeed? And for them, satellites are the only way to do that," he said.

Analysts believe that with heightened tensions across the region, the emergence of Iran's more precise strike capabilities adds a layer of uncertainty and the need to develop new ways to counter it.