Russia's Deadliest Drones Not Designed for Winter Cold, Ukraine Claims

Samuel Bendett, Russia analyst for the Center for Naval Analyses and an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, told Newsweek that the Tachyon is advertised as operating in frigid and very hot temperatures, from -30 degrees Celsius to plus-40 degrees Celsius.

He said he's unsure what to make of the Ukrainians' claim regarding the Shahed drones and their functionality in colder temperatures, saying it "may" in fact impact Shahed operations "but not sure to what extent."

"Not sure about Iranian UAVs, but I would assume some of them were not specifically designed for frigid temperatures considering where they operate now," Bendett said.

"At the same time, Iran is building a factory in Tajikistan to manufacture its Ababil-2 drones—and Tajikistan is basically all mountains, geography-wise. So, Ababil-2 will probably have to operate in Tajik mountains, which have very cold temperatures."

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