TEHRAN – For the first time, a combat drone has targeted another with a missile and destroyed it during a drill held in seven border provinces by four divisions of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army, head of Air Defense Force Brig. Gen. Alireza Sabahifard said on Wednesday.
“Only one or two countries have the ability to carry out this very complex and advanced operation, which of course they have not displayed yet,” he said.
“However, we in the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran showcased this ability to the world and announced that we were able to do it at the height of the cruel and unmanly sanctions against the Islamic nation of Iran,” he added.
“This great and extraordinary feat from the scientific, technical and operational point of view is the result of a one-year effort of my dear comrades in the powerful Air Defense Force of the Army and the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics. I congratulate the honorable people of Islamic Iran on this achievement,” Gen. Sabahifard said.
The drill also saw the mass flight of UAVs from various ground, underground and sea bases to carry out operations which were unprecedented in scope.
“The ability of mass flights using artificial intelligence is one of the innovative measures in the Islamic Republic of Iran Army’s operation of drones,” the spokesman for the drills, Brigadier General Alireza Sheikh, said Wednesday.
The anti-radar Omid drone detected its target, while the Arash zamikaze drone successfully annihilated land and sea targets, he added.
Sheikh described the use of smart bombs as one of the main features of the exercise.
“During the drill, kamikaze and combat drone systems were able to hit all predicted targets in a pinpointed manner using smart ammunition,” he said.
Among other tasks were “implementing a pre-planned flight scenario, striking specified targets …, using bombs and missiles installed on drones, signal gathering and using optical payloads.”
According to Sheikh, nearly 200 drones of 12 different kamikaze and combat types were tested during the maneuver which wrapped up Wednesday.
The Ababil-5 drone performed a surveillance operation and the Karrar carried out interception and destruction tasks on the first day of the drill.
The exercise also featured the unveiling of Kaman-19 drone with air-based electronic warfare capability.
Arash and Karrar drones flew from different parts of the country and landed at a specific location and time as part of tests to gauge
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