The Iranian-made "Shahed" drone that hit the British air force base "Akrotiri" in Cyprus last Monday contained Russian technology, the British newspaper "The Times" reports, News.bg reports.
According to the publication, the drone was equipped with a Russian "Kometa-B" navigation system, which was first seen in Russian unmanned aerial vehicles intercepted by Ukrainian anti-aircraft forces in December last year. The recovered drone components have now been sent for further investigation to a laboratory in the UK.
The “Comet-B“ system is designed to protect Russian drones from jamming technology, ensuring that the unmanned aircraft reach their targets despite electronic countermeasures.
The discovery of Russian technology in the Iranian drone is considered the first concrete evidence of the use of Russian military equipment in the conflict. It follows a statement by the UK's chief of defence, Richard Knighton, who stressed that “there is no doubt“ that intelligence information is being passed from Russia to Iran.
“This is a warning sign. "The cooperation between Iran and Russia makes their forces more capable and more dangerous, so we must be prepared," Knighton said.
Meanwhile, the Russian ambassador to London, Andrei Kelin, said his country was "not neutral" and openly supported Iran in the conflict.