A rival nation overtook the US in global military drone exports, and the 2025 gap isn’t even close | Daily Reports Online
- The US exported 7,592 military drones, narrowly ahead of Iran’s 6,800
- Iran overtook America in 2025 after US deliveries dropped to 402
- Russia received 99% of Iran’s exported drones, mostly Shahed-136 attack systems
The United States exported the most military drones between 2022 and 2025, narrowly beating Iran, which ranked second worldwide during the period.
Data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) records 7,592 American exports against 6,800 Iranian deliveries, while Germany ranked a distant third with 1,000 exports.
Together, the US and Iran accounted for 86% of global exports, with Ukraine receiving 95% of American shipments while Russia got 99% of Iran’s deliveries, most of which were Shahed-136 one-way attack drones.
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Iran overtakes the US as exports shift
Although Washington maintained the lead across most of the period, annual figures changed significantly in 2025, when Iranian deliveries exceeded American shipments.
Iran exported 2,002 drones that year, compared with 402 delivered by the United States.
The decline of American shipments is due to the suspension of military assistance to Ukraine, which had received most US exports during the preceding years.
Subsequent American deliveries were directed mainly toward Taiwan, marking a change in the destinations receiving these systems.
The figures cover military drones weighing at least 150 kilograms, equivalent to approximately 331 pounds, including loitering munitions and one-way attack aircraft.
Small first-person-view drones and commercial models were excluded, meaning the figures do not capture every type of unmanned aircraft supplied internationally.
One-way attack platforms accounted for 97% of recorded exports, indicating that expendable systems dominated the shipments measured by SIPRI during the period.
Their prevalence also explains why the figures should not be interpreted as a comprehensive count of military drones worldwide.
Poland and others trail the leading exporters
In addition to the top exporters, within the same period, Poland exported 690 drones to take fourth place while Turkey occupied fifth place with 381 exports, despite supplying customers across a considerably wider international network.
Ankara delivered drones to 28 countries, including Pakistan, Kuwait and Romania, which belong to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Its Bayraktar TB2 accounted for 58% of worldwide exports of reusable drones, distinguishing Turkey’s position within that category.
The Czech Republic, Sweden and the next seven countries in the rankings collectively exported just 89 drones, considerably fewer than Germany or Poland.
Their combined deliveries also fell far below Turkey’s total, despite the latter ranking behind both European countries in overall export numbers.
The figures therefore distinguish the country’s leading total military drone shipments from those supplying particular categories of aircraft.
However, SIPRI’s weight threshold and exclusion of smaller commercial and first-person-view models limit comparisons with estimates covering the entire unmanned aircraft market.
Via The Drone Front
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