KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban is covertly developing a fleet of kamikaze drones, using former NATO military bases in Afghanistan as testing and production sites, according to a new report.
The UK-based Daily Mail reports that the Taliban has repurposed a former British SAS base in Logar Province as its primary drone testing site. This base, once used by UK special forces during the two-decade war in Afghanistan, is now believed to be hosting successful test flights of suicide drones—remotely piloted aircraft that detonate on impact.
The Taliban’s drone program, reportedly active for at least two years, is also said to be using Camp Phoenix near Kabul, once a major U.S. logistics and training hub for Afghan forces, as a secretive manufacturing facility. According to the report, Taliban engineers have studied abandoned Western military hardware and used it to reverse-engineer drone designs.
The Daily Mail further alleges that the Taliban has recruited foreign specialists to assist in drone development, including an engineer suspected of links to Al-Qaeda and another believed to have studied in the UK. Intelligence sources cited in the report say these experts are now considered high-value assets within the Taliban’s ranks and are protected by personal security details.
Drone prototypes currently under development are reportedly modeled after advanced systems such as the U.S.-made MQ-9 Reaper and the Iranian-designed Shahed-136, both of which have seen extensive use in conflicts in Ukraine, Yemen, and Israel. Taliban engineers are reportedly attempting to increase their drones’ range and payload capacity, experimenting with new explosive loads and detonation techniques.
Intelligence sources cited by the Daily Mail also claim that the Taliban is leveraging technical support and components from countries including Iran, Turkey, China, Russia, Belarus, and Bangladesh. A Russian technician is reportedly involved directly in the program and has accompanied Taliban personnel on international visits related to drone technology development.
The emergence of such a program, if verified, marks a significant escalation in the Taliban’s military capabilities. Beyond Afghanistan’s borders, the potential use of these drones in regional conflicts could pose serious security concerns. Some of the newly developed drones were reportedly used in attacks near the Pakistan border.
According to the Daily Mail, Taliban officials have also recently demonstrated the drones to potential partners and clients within Afghanistan, raising further concerns about proliferation.
The report comes amid growing alarm over the return of extremist networks in Afghanistan, including Al-Qaeda, whose re-emergence follows the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021.
Taliban authorities have not yet commented on the claims, and independent verification of the Daily Mail‘s findings remains limited.
