Iran’s Saker 358 loitering drone, first tied to a 2019 seizure in the Gulf of Aden, has become a major threat to helicopters, drones and potentially airliners. The article says the system has shot down Israeli drones in Lebanon, destroyed dozens of U.S. Reaper drones in Yemen and Iran, and last week brought down an Apache helicopter, described as the first time an autonomous drone has downed a combat helicopter. It was developed to give militants cheap air defense reach of about 100 kilometers without heavy infrastructure.
The Saker 358 is roughly 2.7 meters long and 150 mm in diameter, with most of its body devoted to fuel. It launches on a long booster and then flies on a jet engine, which the article says may be a reverse-engineered version of a Czech or Dutch engine used in cruise missiles. It can receive target data before launch or while en route, navigate by satellite, and use a thermal seeker in the nose to lock onto an aircraft’s heat signature. Near the target, optical sensors guide it into a 10-kilogram fragmentation warhead.
The weapon can attack in three ways: direct strike, over-the-horizon strike using external target data, or an air ambush, where it patrols an area and waits for a target to appear. That makes it hard to detect because its aluminum body has a small radar signature and it does not rely on radar emissions. It can be launched from a disguised light truck or even a rail mounted on a minivan, which makes it easy to hide among civilians.
The article says the Saker 358 is especially dangerous because it combines low cost, portability and autonomous operation. It was designed for groups such as Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iraqi Shiite militias, which can use it without buying an expensive missile battery or setting up a complex support network. The newer Saker 359 is said to be bigger, faster and longer-ranged, with a reusable parachute, while Iran also unveiled the smaller Qaem 118 in February 2025. The article warns that, in a future scenario, such drones could threaten commercial aircraft during takeoff and landing from a safer distance than shoulder-fired missiles. Israeli and Western forces are already studying the system, and the article says there are operational countermeasures, though it does not detail them for security reasons.
