Iran's 'basement' Chinese drone networks spark fears of sleeper cell attacks on US soil

Iran is building a decentralized drone warfare capacity successful Tehran’s flat building basements, powered by inexpensive exertion originated from China, a starring defense master has warned.

Draganfly’s Cameron Chell besides said that this emerging strategy — centered connected first-person-view (FPV) drones — could airs a threat not only crossed nan Middle East but perchance to nan U.S. homeland itself.

"The FPVs are Iran’s Hail Mary because they are very difficult to defend, are incredibly effective, and tin beryllium delivered successful a mode without having to person a cardinal command," Chell told Fox News Digital.

"So whether it's nan Iranian army, whether it's militia groups aliases Iranian patriots, they tin each create aliases procure their ain FPVs and get offensive," Chell said.

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Smoke rises aft an Iranian drone was intercepted complete nan Bahrain Financial Harbour towers, which houses nan Israeli embassy, amid nan U.S.-Israeli conflict pinch Iran, successful Manama, Bahrain, March 6, 2026. Picture taken connected a mobile phone. (Stringer/Reuters)

He added that "Iran could beryllium reiterating FPVs and churning retired much than 100,000 a period complete time."

"Iran's sewage either militias aliases sleeper cells successful nan States who can, successful my estimation, already build this equipment," Chell clarified.

Chell’s informing comes arsenic caller incidents successful Iraq item nan increasing usage of FPVs.

At Baghdad International Airport, Iranian-backed militias operating nether nan "Iraqi Islamic Resistance" umbrella person launched aggregate FPV drone attacks.

Footage released successful March 2026 allegedly shows an FPV drone striking a U.S. UH-60M aliases HH-60M Black Hawk helicopter, while different onslaught successfully deed a U.S. AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel radar portion astatine nan aforesaid base.

"FPVs are a cardinal halfway theme, and Iran is building these itself, suspecting they’re pulling parts successful from China and getting nan parts done immoderate beautiful porous borders, truthful it is very difficult to extremity that," Chell said.

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A drone position of nan tract of an Iranian rocket onslaught connected a residential building, aft Iran launched rocket barrages pursuing attacks by nan U.S. and Israel, successful Tel Aviv (REUTERS/Roei Kastro)

He warned that Iran’s strategy mirrors what has already occurred successful Ukraine, wherever decentralized drone manufacturing has flourished.

"There will be, aliases already is, an underground manufacture for FPV and drone manufacturing, which will aliases is swelling up wrong Iran, nan nonstop aforesaid measurement that we saw it swell up wrong Ukraine," he explained.

"This is going to beryllium happening successful people's homes successful Iran, people's basements, nan basements of flat blocks, wherever they tin conception makeshift assembly lines."

"I americium assured China and Russia are shipping successful parts to thief support nan improvement of drone assembly aliases manufacturing capacity - which is simply a de facto decentralized cottage industry," he warned.

Concerns widen beyond overseas battlefields arsenic astir 1,500 Iranians were intercepted astatine nan U.S. separator during nan Biden administration.

Officials pass nan chartless number who evaded discovery raises fears of imaginable "sleeper cells."

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Iran drone swarms frighten U.S. subject assets successful Middle East region (Iranian Army/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS)

President Trump acknowledged nan rumor connected March 11, saying, "A batch of group came successful done Biden pinch his stupid unfastened border, but we cognize wherever astir of them are: We’ve sewage our oculus connected each of them, I think."

"It is nan opening of an asymmetric capacity that nan Iranians will usage against their neighbors and U.S. assets successful nan region, but besides nan U.S. homeland," Chell said.

"We whitethorn moreover want to telephone it violent attacks, utilizing FPV's against their neighbors and practically anyplace successful nan world," he added.

"It’s a matter of erstwhile we spot FPV attacks, astir apt swarm, astir apt sophisticated, connected U.S. soil."

"Within nan adjacent 8 months, nan Iranians are going to person blase drone systems that tin conclusion immoderate RF/radio wave jamming. They will commencement to usage strategies for illustration swarming aliases spoofing," he warned.

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"It will beryllium very, very difficult for nan U.S. to return retired these small drone factories successful nan basements of flat blocks wherever civilians help. Cutting proviso chains will besides beryllium difficult."

"The superior choke constituent for nan Iranians is to found proviso chains from China to person capable proviso to represent precision wide capacity and/or consistent, pervasive asymmetric capability," Chell said earlier stating that if this happens, "the war betwixt Iran and nan U.S. conscionable gets a batch longer."