US Could Be Finished: Iran-Made Cheap Killer Weapons Hard to Counter
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The development of drone-based military technology is said to be reshaping the balance of power and could offer substantial advantages to countries able to produce it at scale at low cost.
The Shahed-136 suicide drone, initially developed by Iran, has now become one of the most formidable weapons in modern warfare. This technology has even been used by Russia in its invasion of Ukraine and has become a key component of Iran’s military strategy against the United States and its allies.
The drone is known to be relatively simple compared with other advanced weapon technologies. However, analysts say its edge lies in its much lower production cost and its ability to be launched in large numbers.
An analyst from the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Patrycja Bazylczyk, said that cheap drone technology like Shahed provides a significant advantage to countries that use it.
“Shahed-136, along with other unmanned aerial systems, gives countries such as Russia and Iran a cheap way to impose very high costs on their adversaries,” Bazylczyk said, quoted from CNBC International on Friday (6/3/2026).
She explained that the drone forces the opposing country to spend expensive defence systems to intercept weapons that are much cheaper, projecting power and creating psychological pressure on civilians.
US government data says that a single Shahed-136 drone is estimated to cost only around US$20,000 to US$50,000. In contrast, a single air defence interceptor missile can cost between US$3 million to US$12 million.
This cost disparity makes the strategy of mass drone attacks highly effective in weakening the adversary’s air defence system.
Behnam Ben Taleblu, Director of Iran Programs at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, even called the drone a “cheap cruise missile.” In his view, the weapon provides a cheap way for states facing sanctions or technological limitations to continue striking their enemies.
Since its introduction around 2021, the Shahed-136 drone has drawn global attention after being used by Russia in the Ukraine war. Moscow even began producing it itself based on the Iranian design.
Analysts say the trend of using cheaply made drones produced in bulk will be a defining feature of modern warfare, capable of delivering substantial pressure on conventional air defence systems that are far more expensive.
Meanwhile, several countries are now developing various new methods to counter drone attacks, from cheap interceptors, to electronic warfare, to directed-energy systems.
But experts cautioned that developing effective and affordable anti-drone systems will still take years.