April 15 marked one year since the war in Sudan started where, according to The Telegraph, in the last few months, Iranian-manufactured drones fielded have been shifting things for Sudan's Armed Forces (SAF) against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group.

It added that drones have been also extensively utilized by the Yemeni Armed Forces in their operations in the Red Sea against Israeli ships and ships heading to the ports of occupied Palestine.

To highlight the wide use of drones, The Telegraph added that Shahed drones have been extensively used by Russia in Ukraine amid their ongoing conflict, and other Iranian-manufactured drones were used against US forces in Iraq and Syria. 

Why drones are taking the lead

Even though combat drones are not newly created and have existed for several years now, The Telegraph said that as Iran increased its production and export of drones over the past two years, the dynamic in warfare has shifted as these UAVs give a great advantage to many using them. 

Elaborating on how they give these advantages, it added that these drones are highly flexible and can be launched from a wide range of platforms, including trucks, shipping containers, and vessels.

They can also be readily disassembled and re-assembled and easily moved and concealed as they can be launched in swarms to overwhelm air defenses, it said. 

According to The Telegraph, the most "dramatic attack" this far involving Iranian drones was the one that took place this weekend when Iran launched a retaliatory attack on "Israel" as attempting to intercept the attack is estimated to have cost the occupation up to 1.5 billion dollars, a significant amount of which must have been expended on downing the drones aside from the ballistic missiles that were launched.

The latter, it said, exhibits one of the most pressing problems facing Western national defenses today.

Both attack and reconnaissance drones can be as cheap as $2,000, The Telegraph said, using Shahed drone as an example as they have large explosive charges with great precision at ranges of around 2,000 miles and only cost $20,000 to $50,000.

Bad air defense systems 

On the other hand, some of the missiles that have been used to intercept these drones can cost upwards of a million dollars a shot and sometimes much more, it added explaining that the earlier they can be intercepted, the better the chances of stopping them from hitting the target, "but the higher the price tag."

The Telegraph said that Iran’s drone production and export, alongside Russia's use of missiles and other drones, has "given a long overdue wake-up call" to Western countries who are currently attempting harder to work on counter-drone technology and missile defense.

It added that the Israeli occupation is working on fielding Iron Beam, a laser interceptor for drones and missiles, soon, and Britain is developing a laser interceptor called DragonFire, which is predicted to be ready in five to ten years. The US, Russia, China, and India are also working on similar systems.

However, even if lasers seem promising, they cannot currently replace kinetic air defense missiles completely, as they are short-range only, probably not much more than 10 miles, and are hindered by atmospheric conditions such as rain and fog, the commentary said. 

Air defense systems will only constitute a partial response until technology can be developed to largely decrease the cost of neutralizing drones with actions to destroy production facilities remaining "paramount."