TEHRAN -- Iran’s Army has
received more than 200 long-range strategic drones designed and manufactured by the country’s Defense Ministry.
The delivery of the new strategic, sea-based and vertical launch drones took place in a ceremony in some parts of the country on Thursday in the presence of top military brass, including Chief Commander of the Army Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, Defense Minister Brigadier General Muhammad Reza Ashtiani, and Deputy of Chief of Staff for the Armed Forces Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh.
The new anti-radar drones have different missions of reconnaissance, destruction, combat reconnaissance, aerial interception, and hitting mobile and fixed targets with a low radar cross-section.
With changes in the propulsion, guidance, control and navigation systems, the drones have been equipped with various types of air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles, smart air-based standoff bombs, and an electronic warfare system.
The new features have turned the drones into long-range, stealth aircraft that can carry out special operations.
The delivery of the new drones to the Army is part of an agreement reached with the Defense Ministry last year to boost the armed forces’ drone power. Under the first phase of the agreement, the ministry has undertaken to equip the Army with 1,000 UAVs.
Gen. Mousavi said the Army has boosted its drone power and is currently capable of conducting defensive operations to easily hit distant targets.
Speaking in a televised interview, he said said the Army is in possession of full domestically-manufactured drones and missile systems which can destroy the enemy’s “strategic and distant” targets.
He said an unmanned flying object can also be used against the predetermined targets both alone or in a group form in combination with missile systems from different areas and points.
Head of Iran Aviation Industries Organization (IAIO) Brigadier General Afshin Khajeh Fard said the country’s Defense Ministry has achieved complete success to manufacture drone sub-systems and gain various drone products with different functions in a bid to provide the Army with a range of equipment.
Pointing to the mass delivery of new strategic drones to the Army, he said all the UAVs have been designed and manufactured by the knowledge-based companies affiliated with the Defense Ministry and their designers can make all the necessary changes to their details after receiving reactions.
He emphasized that all the organizations and knowledge-based companies affiliated with the Defense Ministry are capable of mass-producing military equipment in the near future.
Khajeh Fard further noted that Iran stands in a “very good” position regarding drone science and technology, saying, “We will certainly help Muslim countries, of course, we will help any other country that wants to acquire drones for self-defense.”
He said the Iranian-made drones have a very good performance and their capabilities are based on the experience of the real combat fields.
Iranian military experts and technicians have in recent years made substantial headways in manufacturing a broad range of indigenous equipment, making the armed forces self-sufficient in the arms sphere.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has repeatedly called for efforts to maintain and boost Iran’s defense capabilities, hitting back at the enemies for disputing the country’s missile program.