According to the source, in 2022, the US, NATO and many other Western officials have witnessed a number of cases where Russia seized small man-portable weapons including Javelin anti-tank missiles, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles of  the different countries. Ukrainian forces were left on the battlefield. Russia has shipped these weapons to Iran for dismantling and analysis. Based on that, the Iranian military can try to create its own version of the weapon. Moscow believes that supplying Iran with Western weapons will encourage Tehran to continue supporting Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine.

However, such cases are very rare. Several US officials said that since the conflict broke out, the Ukrainian military has regularly reported to the Pentagon the damage to weapons supplied by the country and what weapons have fallen into the hands of Russia. . But US officials admit the issue is difficult to track.

It is not yet clear if Iran has successfully reverse engineered US weapons taken from the Ukraine battlefield, but Tehran is believed to be very experienced in developing new weapons systems based on US equipment without the use of US equipment. this country had access to.

According to CNN, the Toophan anti-tank guided missile – an important weapon in Iran’s stockpile, is a reverse design of the US BGM-71 TOW missile born in the 1970s. Iran also intercepted an aerial plane. RQ-170 “Sentinel” pilot, manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corporation in 2011 and reverse engineered to create a new type of unmanned aircraft. This UAV flew into Israeli airspace in 2018 and was shot down.

“Iran has successfully demonstrated the ability to reverse engineer US weapons in the past,” said Jonathan Lord, director of the Middle East security program at the Center for a New American Security. They rebuilt the TOW anti-tank guided missile, creating a near-perfect clone of it called the Toophan. Iran could do the same with the Stinger missile – creating a weapon that could threaten military aviation in the region. The reverse design of the Javenlin missile could be used by Hamas or Hezbollah to threaten Israel’s Merkava tanks. In the hands of Iranian-backed forces, these weapons pose a real danger to Israel’s conventional military forces.”

The supply of weapons obtained from the battlefield is another example of the growing defense cooperation between Russia and Iran – which was strengthened in 2022 as Russia sought military support from Russia. outside for the special military operation in Ukraine.

US warns of threats from Iran

The Pentagon said that senior US officials including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley were in the Middle East in March to discuss with their counterparts. about what Washington sees as a threat from Iran.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in Tel Aviv on March 10, Austin said: “In 2022, military cooperation between Russia and Iran will deepen and deepen. This poses serious challenges to the region and to the safety of Israeli citizens themselves.”

“Iran is gaining significant battlefield knowledge and experience through the conflict in Ukraine that can be transferred to its proxies in the Middle East,” Austin said. Russia has offered Iran unprecedented defense cooperation, including missile and air defense cooperation, in exchange for Tehran’s support in the Ukraine conflict.

The West believes that the great loss of military equipment in the wars lasting more than a year, and the strong sanctions of the US and EU have made it difficult for Russia to continue producing weapons. weapons and ammunition needed to sustain the offensive in Ukraine. Therefore, Russia has asked Iran to supply hundreds of drones, missiles and tank shells. In return, Iran bought billions of dollars worth of military equipment from Russia, including fighter jets, radar systems and helicopters.

By the end of 2022, the US Department of Defense had stepped up efforts to track down the weapons Washington supplied to Ukraine, including in-person inspections by US troops at the US Embassy in Kiev. proceed. There have been a number of cases where Russia has seized weapons delivered by Washington to Ukraine on the battlefield, but this number is very few, said US Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl.

“We do not see any evidence that Russia has seized US and NATO weapons on the battlefield in large quantities and there is no evidence that Ukraine has put weapons on the black market.” , noted Mr. Colin Kahl.

However, there have been calls in the US Congress for stricter monitoring of weapons and equipment worth billions of dollars that the West brings into Ukraine.