SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE REPORTING – The January 28 strike that killed three U.S. service members at a base in Jordan sparked an escalation that has already seen multiple U.S. airstrikes against Iran-backed militias in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. The strike has also highlighted the proliferation of a tool that has become essential for Iran and its various militia groups: the weaponized drone.
Multiple reports suggest that Iran manufactured the drone that slammed into the Tower 22 base in Jordan. U.S. officials have described the weapon used as “a type of Shahed drone,” likely designed by Shahed Aviation Industries Research Center, a subsidiary of Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
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