How long-distance drones from a cornered Iran could threaten NYC

As President Trump ratchets up the pressure on the Iranian regime this week, Tehran continues to hit its immediate neighbors with wave after wave of attack drones.With some 6,000 miles separating Tehran and New York City, the American homeland would seem safe from that threat: Iran’s Shahed attack drone, its most commonly deployed model, has a range of just 1,200 miles.Yet long-distance drone strikes are feasible — and Iran may have the capability to accomplish them.Aircraft engineers calculate the range of an aircraft with a century-old equation that balances aerodynamic drag with fuel consumption.With clean aerodynamics — endurance drones tend to resemble gliders with long, straight wings — and an efficient engine, drones can travel surprising distances.In 2003, a hand-launched drone with a 6-foot wingspan called Spirit of Butt’s Farm flew across the Atlantic in a 39-hour journey that took it exactly to its GPS-set landing site.Computer-aided design and manufacture have steadily improved drone performance, and building small drones is easier than making full-size aircraft, requiring only a well-equipped workshop rather than a factory.Determined engineers have shown how long-range attack drones can be built and flown under wartime conditions. When Saudi Arabia destroyed the Houthis’ limited air force in 2015, it felt safe from retaliation — but three years later, the Houthis were hitting airports and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.They had given their short-range Qasef drones stretched wings and extra fuel tanks to reach over 1,000 miles.Similarly, starting in 2022, Ukrainian developers produced a slew of small attack drones in response to Moscow’s aerial barrage.They have been steadily hitting faraway Russian oil and gas facilities with drones that will soon reach the 6,000-mile range, President Volodymyr Zelensky says.Greater ranges are already possible.The current champion among piston-engine drones is the Vanilla, ...