The Russian Drone Made In Iran That Ends In Ukraine Contains Components Made In 13 United States Companies

Illustration of the Shahed-136 drone belonging to Iran. (Twitter/@inbarspace)

JAKARTA - An Iranian drone shot down in Ukraine last year was found to contain parts made by 13 US companies, according to Ukrainian intelligence reports obtained by CNN.

Of the 52 "suicide drone" components of Iran-made Shahed-136, the report found 40 had been produced by US companies.

The assessment claims the remaining 12 were built by companies in Canada, Switzerland, Japan, Taiwan and China, reported The National News on January 5.

Russia is believed to have consumed its Shahed-136 supplies in November, after sending about 400 units to Ukraine.

The long-range unmanned aerial vehicle can strike targets of more than 2,000 km. The drone was pushed by the propeller, giving it a speed of about 185kph, guided by GPS for accuracy.

Washington is currently looking for ways to curb Iran's drone production through export sanctions and controls, as well as talk to private companies whose parts have been used in production, the White House said on Wednesday.

"We are assessing further steps we can take in terms of export controls, to limit Iran's access to the technologies used in drones," said White House National Security Council spokesman Adrienne Watson.

The US has previously imposed sanctions on companies and people accused of producing or transferring Iranian drones, which Russia uses to attack civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.

Separately, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claims Moscow plans to increase the use of Iranian-made explosive drones.

"We received information that Russia is planning a prolonged attack by Shahed," he said on Monday.