Iranian involvement in drone attacks that targeted Saudi Aramco facilities on Sept. 14 last year was further established by a report published by Conflict Armament Research (CAR) on Wednesday. CAR, a UK-based investigative organization that tracks the supply of conventional weapons, ammunition, and related military materiel (such as IEDs) into conflict-affected areas, claimed in its report that components of the drones used in the attacks were Iranian made. CAR documented a component called the "vertical gyroscope" and according to UAV experts familiar with this technology, such vertical gyroscopes "have not been observed in any UAVs other than those manufactured by Iran." "The gyroscopes appear to be of the same make — yet not the same model — as a unit that Saudi authorities recovered following the aerial attack on the Aramco oil facility in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia, on Sept. 14." CAR findings follow a recently released report from the United Nations, saying its experts saw a similar gyroscope from an Iranian drone obtained by the US military in Afghanistan, as well as in a shipment of cruise missiles seized in the Arabian Sea bound for Yemen. A gyroscope is a device that helps orient and guide a drone or missile to its target. The gyroscopes in question bear no manufacturer's name and come in at least two versions labeled as V9 and V10, according to the reports. Their four-digit serial numbers also appear sequential, suggesting the same manufacturer had built all of those found. Saudi Arabia, the United States and other countries have blamed Iran for the Aramco attack Iran denied any involvement.
