Iran has developed a new unmanned combat aircraft (drone) for the war in Ukraine and appears intent on providing Russia with surface-to-surface missiles, a security source said, British TV channel Sky News reported, claimed by an unnamed source.

"Shahed-107" (Shahed-107) is described as an attack and reconnaissance drone. It is likely to be equipped with technology to seek out high-value targets on the battlefield, such as the British and American multi-target missile systems used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The source told Sky News that "several units" of the specially designed drone may have been offered to Russia in a deal estimated to be worth more than $2m (£1.6m).

Iranian security forces have conducted a test with the Russians of the drone at an airbase in central Iran, and all this reflects Iran's serious efforts to support Russia.

Ukraine and its Western allies have previously accused Tehran of supplying Moscow with hundreds of attack drones known as the Shahed-131 and Shahed-136 — also known as kamikaze drones because they aim at targets and explode on impact.

Russia is using a combination of drones and missile strikes in its attempts to penetrate Ukraine's Western-supplied air defenses. Sources said Russian forces were launching waves of deadly attacks on civilian and military targets across the country that had intensified in recent days.

The security source further stated that the new Shahed-107 drone is from the Shahed-101 family of unmanned aerial vehicles, with a V-tail. About 2.5m long and with a wingspan of three metres, the unmanned aerial vehicle can be launched from a vehicle and is supposed to have a range of up to 1,500km.
Russia's Ministry of Defense, as well as Iran's Foreign Ministry, have yet to comment on the news.

In September, Iran's president denied that his country had sent drones or other weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine.

"We are against the war in Ukraine," President Ebrahim Raisi was quoted as saying on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Last year, however, Sky News revealed an alleged arms deal that provided the first hard evidence that Iran had sold ammunition to Russia for its military operations.