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TEHRAN – Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones were reportedly deployed in retaliatory strikes against the United States and Israel in the Gulf region over the weekend, marking a significant escalation in regional tensions. The use of these drones, already known for their impact in Ukraine, signals a new dimension in Iran’s military capabilities and its willingness to project power across the Middle East.
The drones have struck targets in Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, causing damage amid what the U.S. Has termed “Operation Epic Fury.” Verified video footage obtained by The New York Times on Saturday, March 28, 2026, shows a Shahed-136 impacting a building in Bahrain, with similar strikes reported in Kuwait and the UAE.
Footage from Manama, the capital of Bahrain, depicts the delta-wing shaped drone colliding with the side of a high-rise apartment building, igniting a fire and sending debris scattering. The distinctive buzzing sound of the drone’s engine was clearly audible before the impact.
Drones Offer Cost-Effective Warfare
The New York Times reports that the Shahed-136 is part of a family of Shahed drones, meaning “witness” in Persian. These drones are designed as low-cost, unmanned aerial vehicles capable of functioning like guided missiles, flying towards predetermined targets.
Development of the Shahed-136 is attributed to companies affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the ideological branch of the Iranian military responsible for protecting the country’s political system. Iran has been producing the Shahed-136 since at least 2021 and previously used them in Iraq before the recent conflict.
These one-way attack drones offer a significant cost advantage over traditional missiles. A single Shahed-136 can be produced for approximately $35,000, with a range of up to 2,000 kilometers. In contrast, intercepting a single drone can cost the U.S. Military between $500,000 and $4 million. This disparity highlights a growing challenge for Western defense systems.
Seth Frantzman, a drone warfare expert, argues that the Shahed-136’s effectiveness lies not in its sophistication, but in its affordability and mass producibility. “They give Iran an air force-like weapons system at a cheap price,” Frantzman, author of Drone Wars: Pioneers, Killing Machines, Artificial Intelligence, and the Battle for the Future (2021), told the Daily Mail on Monday, March 2, 2026.
While not as precise or destructive as other weapons, Frantzman explained, these drones can sometimes evade expensive air defense systems and create disruption. The development underscores the increasing accessibility of advanced drone technology and its potential to reshape modern warfare.
