Drone technology that could allow hundreds of Unarmed Arial Vehicles to operate simultaneously using lasers has passed onto the Iranian regime by scientists at British universities, accordingly to further revelations by the Jewish Chronicle.
Military experts believe the command-and-control system could enable Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) — which runs its military drone programme — to launch overwhelming suicide swarm attacks on Israel or Western allies, linking drones, aircraft, ships, missiles and underwater buoys.
The concerning news follows reports last week 11 British universities were collaborating with Iranian engineers on research that has potential military applications.
CUFI is calling for the IRGC to be banned by the UK government, and this week Britain’s Foreign Secretary announced he will be investigating the claims.
Now three newly identified advanced research projects show more UK specialists — this time based at universities in Glasgow, Edinburgh, and at King’s College, London — working with Iranian scientists on similar “dual use” technology.
Military experts described the work, which could allow the control of huge fleets of UAVs, as “highly dangerous”.
An expert on Iran’s military, Farzin Nadimi, senior fellow at the Washington Institute, said: “Initially, [Iran developed] drones for reconnaissance, then gradually started working on the suicide drones. From the very earliest stage, universities were involved.
“Shahid Beheshti University is known for drone research. They have a very strong faculty. They develop young engineering graduates who later join the Ministry of Defence or IRGC.”
Reviewing one of the papers, he said: “Free space optical communications do have military applications, for example in drone swarms. They are resistant to jamming.”
Dr Yehoshua Kalisky, a specialist in laser technology at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv, also said the research involving Iran and British universities had “very clear military value” .
He said: “These papers are extremely important. They reflect the dual use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, and it’s clear the Iranians could exploit this research for military purposes.
“Each paper is important on its own. But taken together, they suggest a new paradigm for wireless communications that could be used on the battlefield, giving you extremely precise control over a fleet of drones.
“This could be a game changer, used to maintain command and control not only over a drone fleet, but ground forces too.”
He added: “People may try to defend these collaborations on the grounds that there should be academic freedom, but in my opinion, they pose a real threat, owing to the dual use of these technologies, and we have to be very careful. The Iranians already have enormous technical capability.”
Dr Kalisky said a control system of this type could be used to coordinate “tens, or even hundreds” of drones in simultaneous attacks on Israel or its western allies. “Just imagine how dangerous that would be,” he said.
Another expert, Tal Inbar, of the Washington-based Missile Defence Advocacy Alliance, agreed the papers’ findings lent themselves to military applications. He said: “In dealing with Iran, you can’t conceive of research as a pure academic project, because of the regime. We need to be much more careful.”
He added that working with scientists in Britain might also benefit Iran because laboratory facilities at elite British universities “may well be superior to those in Iran”.
The UK sanctions regulations specifically prohibits work on drone technology. They say the “export or transfer by electronic means” of technology used for the development of UAVs “is prohibited to any destination in Iran”.
The ban also covers drone “avionics and navigation equipment”. Breaches of these regulations are a criminal offence and can be punishable with up to seven years in prison.
Source: Jewish Chronicle
