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Iran has achieved a new level of precision in its drone and missile capabilities by relying on Chinese and Russian-made guidance chips linked to satellite systems, defence analysts and officials have told The National.
Exploiting a technology invented in the UK almost half a century ago allowed Iran to use imported satellite chips for a significant advantage to its missiles and drones. The development marks a significant shift in Tehran’s strike capabilities, with experts warning that the Iran war demonstrated a level of accuracy not previously associated with the country's arsenal.
Western security sources also told The National that there is a “high probability” that Iranian targeting experts are based in Russian satellite ground stations receiving precise location information.
Pinpoint targeting
Key to the advance is special computer chips designed for sophisticated navigation systems, placed in Iran’s Shahed drones and its ballistic missiles.
Iranian engineers have been able to combine satellite-linked guidance with Controlled Reception Pattern Antenna (CRPA) technology, allowing weapons to resist jamming and maintain course even in electronically contested environments. The result, experts say, is a “pinpoint” targeting capability.
“CRPA allows drones and missiles to filter out jamming signals and lock onto genuine satellite data,” a western official said. “That means they can stay on target even in heavily defended airspace. It’s a capability that, until recently, was largely confined to more advanced military powers.”
UK Space Agency
Defence analyst Robert Tollast of the Rusi think tank described the shift as an important moment in Iran’s military capabilities. “CRPA is really critical as its antennas are very important giving drones the ability to hit a specific building and significantly reduces their vulnerability to electronic warfare. This is transformative for the Iranians.”
He added that the long-running Iran alliance with Russia, which led to Tehran supplying Moscow with Shahed drones it now fires en masse into Ukraine, had considerably helped its military developments.
Airbase strikes
Recent attacks on US airbases and key sites across the Gulf have highlighted Iranian capability to impact within metres of an intended target. That suggests a “dramatic improvement”, Mr Tollast said, over earlier Iranian systems, which were inconsistent and had wide error margins.
Iran launched more than 4550 of the Shahed-136 kamikaze drones during the recent conflict.
A pivotal attack, which demonstrated the accuracy was the mass strike on Prince Sultan air base near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, early last month.
It is understood that up to 30 Shahed drones and six ballistic missiles were fired with high precision hitting a highly valued E-3 AWACS early warning surveillance aircraft precisely on its rotating radar.
A further five KC-135 refuelling tankers were heavily damaged and 12 US personnel injured, raising questions over America’s ability to defend itself against more accurate attacks.
Iran had earlier shown its increased accuracy with a salvo of 30 missiles on Israel’s Nevatim airbase striking the runway, hangars and buildings during its October 2024 attacks.
Chinese navigation
Bleddyn Bowen, professor of astropolitics at Durham University, who is an expert on space warfare, pointed to China providing its BeiDou technology that gives access to its independent global satellite navigation system and provided Iran with all-weather, high-accuracy positioning and timing.
“This will significantly help Iran’s targeting system if they are using China’s chips and the BeiDou system, which is good, or the Russian’s Glonass system which is [less effective],” he said.
While Matt Archer, the launch director of the UK Space Agency, indicated he was limited in what he could say, he did suggest that Iran’s greater accuracy came from better satellite guidance.
“Any kind of ballistic object requires good navigation, and I have no doubt that Iran has the capability to be able to target accurately.”
He also indicated that Russia and China likely played a role. “It is it a bit surprising, the accuracy that they've had on American air bases, which has been extraordinary.”
He added that it demonstrated “the importance of understanding what space-based assets there are and what capability that enables on the ground”, particular in conflict.
Technological nexus
Military sources are concerned that Iran’s advances will change regional calculations for air defences as “precision changes everything,” a military source said.
“When you can reliably hit a specific runway, hangar, or command centre you shift from symbolic strikes to operationally decisive ones,” the source said. “That’s a different level of risk for anyone in range.”
While there is no official confirmation of China and Russia’s role there has been increasing military co-operation between Tehran, Beijing, and Moscow.
Dr Bowen stated that satellite connectivity is seen as a critical in providing the real-time positioning data necessary for high-accuracy strikes. “It wouldn't surprise me if the Russians have given them satellite data and certainly the Russians could be feeding them the BDA (battle damage assessment),” he said.
“The Iranians need their own battle damage assessment to know, did we hit this barracks in Bahrain? Do we need to hit that target again? Was the strike a success? And for them satellites are the only way to do that.”
Analysts believe that with growing tensions across the region, the emergence of more precise Iranian strike capabilities adds a layer of uncertainty and a requirement to develop new means of countering them.
