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Iran has likely developed or is utilizing a passive drone targetting system in its war with the United States

The US pilot who was shot down while operating around critical nuclear research facilities around Isfahan reported "real alien shit" in other words, drones moving around as a jellyfish formation.

A US fighter jet pilot rescued by special forces after being shot down over Iran in April described a shocking sight before ejecting from his aircraft: multiple Iranian drones hovering in the air, moving as one, in a formation that resembled a jellyfish, according to four sources familiar with the matter. The account, which has not been previously reported, was shared by the F-15 pilot with intelligence officials during a debriefing after the incident. It immediately set off a firestorm of debate within the US intelligence community that has yet to be resolved. If the airman really saw what he described — a formation moving in unison — it would be an alarming advance in Iranian drone capabilities. “Multiple drones interconnected and moving as one with smaller drones below the bigger drones like legs,” one of the sources familiar with the pilot’s witness account told CNN. “Real alien sh*t.” ... A second aircraft, an A-10 (aiding in the rescue effort over the previous crashed pilot), was downed during the rescue effort but that pilot managed to eject safely outside of Iranian airspace.

Recent reports indicate that these drone swarms produced an anti-air sensor mesh that provided targeting data to shoulder-launched MANPAD teams. The pilot of the F15 had half a second notice before his jet was struck by a missile. Drones feeding data to stationary anti-air batteries is one thing as those are (barring decoys) are relatively easy to find and take out... its a different story if data is being fed to soldiers with shoulder-launched MANPADs. This development, alongside the rumour that the rescue FOB where numerous US aircraft were lost before extraction was possibly a special operations gamble/foothold to go into the Isfahan facility to secure/sabotage fissile material, may go a long way in explaining why the United States has since been hesitant to mount an amphibious ground operation or sustained air operations over Iran. The United States then failed to achieve air supremacy but discovered that Iran has now, or is on the cusp of, revolutionizing anti-air defense in a way that effectively counters US air superiority. Additionally, a quarter of the entire fleet of Reaper MQ-9s have so far been shot down by Iran.

And to make matters worse, up to 80% of US top shelf anti-air missiles such as patriot and THAAD systems, have been depleted in a way that stocks will take over a decade to be replenished. Needless to say, this depletion is being felt in Ukraine and provides a window for China to make aggressive motions against Taiwan the US is helpless to assist with.

Indications are that Iran has repaired infrastructure targeted by US attacks and has ramped up its munitions and systems production as it regards this war as existential

Satellite imagery from western Iran showed damaged tunnel entrances and access roads to a missile base in March, but images taken weeks later revealed newly paved roads and rebuilt entrances. In another example, Iranian crews repaired a bridge hit by Israeli strikes within days, according to an Israeli military official, raising questions among Israeli officials about the effectiveness of the attacks. Meanwhile, satellite imagery from early July showed partial reconstruction at an IRGC-linked shipyard in the Caspian Sea port of Bandar Anzali. Former lsraeli air and missile defense commander Ran Kochav said lran's rapid recovery reflects its ability to rebuild infrastructure, and replenish its missile arsenal. “They refilled their stockpiles,” he said, adding: “They have very impressive industrialization and reconstruction capabilities.” “It turns out that the rumors about the end or the significant dwindling of the missiles were wrong,” said Tal Inbar, a senior analyst at the US-based Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance.

Days ago, Iran has reported that its missile and drone production now exceeds the speed at which they are being spent.

Speaking on a state television broadcast, Naqdi stated: “We are currently producing, and this process is unending.” According to Naqdi, the current production rate of Iranian ballistic missiles exceeds the rate at which they are being launched, with a similar dynamic applying to drone  manufacturing.

Israeli intelligence corroborates this, stating it as worrisome alongside admitting boastful estimates of depleted Iranian stocks as being premature..

This was an important debate as long as the assumption was that the Islamic Republic was stuck for a few years with whatever volume it had since its new production capabilities had been mostly destroyed. But with this new information that Iran can now speedily rebuild ballistic missiles, the debate about how much it had left post-war becomes less important than the pace at which Iran is rebuilding. If Iran can return to manufacturing 100-300 missiles per month, then it can restore its missile arsenal to June 2025 levels by early to mid-2027 and might become a prohibitive threat in 2028.

Seems as the days go on, Iran's position strengthens. And this isnt getting into the Hormuz Strait and the impending depletion of emergency petroleum reserves.

"Grandma!"