Iran's Drone Capabilities and Industrial Strategy

Iran has successfully developed drone capacities since the late 80s, benefiting from reverse engineering American drones lost over Iran. They produce cheap knock-off versions with impressive ranges, outperforming more sophisticated Western drones in cost and distance. Iran's low-end drones are reliable, mass-produced, and significantly cheaper than models from Turkey or the West. To compete with drone suppliers like Turkey, Iran established a drone factory and created an industrial strategy termed as a 'drone cluster' to corner the market with investments and expertise.