Iranian Army/WANA/Reuters
   Ukraine’s military intelligence service said on Tuesday that Iran plans to send more than 200 combat drones to Russia, including the Arash-2 touted by the Iranian military as one of the longest-range attack drones in the world.   

The Defense Intelligence Service of Ukraine, part of the Ministry of Defense, said “a batch of more than 200 Shahed-136, Mohajer-6 and Arash-2 combat drones is planned to be sent from Iran to the Russian Federation in early November.” 

  The intelligence agency said in a Telegram post that the unmanned aerial vehicles “will be delivered via the Caspian Sea to the port of Astrakhan.”   

  The agency said the drones are being shipped in a disassembled state and once they enter Russian territory, “they will be collected, repainted and applied with Russian markings.”   

  The intelligence agency did not say how it obtained the information about the missions, and CNN could not independently verify the details.   

  But it echoes a CNN report on Tuesday, citing officials from a Western country that closely monitors Iran’s weapons program, that Tehran was preparing a large shipment of drones and ballistic missiles to Russia.   

  Any Russian deployment of the Arash-2 drone in the war in Ukraine could put further pressure on the country’s already challenged air defenses.   

  Since September 13, Ukraine’s air defense forces say they have shot down more than 300 attack drones — but dozens have managed to hit their targets and destroy vital energy infrastructure.   

  Some background: CNN’s Clarissa Ward said the development of the Arash-2 has the potential to be a “major game changer” in the war in Ukraine, as it “can carry five times the explosives of the Shahed.”   

  Unlike the noisy propeller of the Shahed-136, it has been claimed that the Arash-2 uses jet propulsion, not only making it much faster and harder to shoot down, but also giving it a longer range.  However, photos of what is described as the Arash-2 by Iranian state media clearly show that it has a propeller on the back.   

  Speaking on Iranian television at a military event in Tehran in late September, Iran’s Brig.-Gen.  General Kioomars Heidari suggested that the Arash-2 had a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles), which would make it one of the longest-range attack drones in the world.  However, Iranian military leaders have a history of exaggerating the capabilities of Iranian-made weapons systems.