Kian, Jet-Powered Precision Drone, Unveiled

Date: 01 September 2019 - 21:51

News ID: ۷۰۰۴۰

TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Iran on Sunday unveiled a jet-propelled drone it said is capable of finding and attacking targets far from the country's borders with precision.
Dubbed the "Kian", the unmanned aerial vehicle was designed, produced and tested by experts of the air defense force within about a year, said the head of the force, Brigadier General Alireza Sabahifard.
The drone comes in two models capable of "surveillance and reconnaissance missions and continuous flight for precision missions", state news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
"This drone can undertake any drone missions we entrust it with... it can fly more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) and find its target with precision," he said.
The newly launched UAV can carry different munitions and can climb to an altitude of 5,000 meters (15,000 feet), according to state television.
"This unmanned aircraft is capable of hitting targets far from the country’s borders and undertaking air defense from the enemy's territory," said Sabahifard.
The unveiling comes at a time of rising tensions with the United States, which have escalated since last year when U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and reimposed sanctions.
Iran shot down a U.S. Global Hawk drone with a surface-to-air missile in June for violating its airspace.
On Friday, Deputy Defense Minister Brigadier General Shahrokh Shahram said Iran has "come into possession” of advanced laser cannons - with a U.S.-based expert suggesting the West should not discount the possibility of the Islamic Republic deploying increasingly sophisticated weapons systems in the near future.
Tehran, General Shahram said, has obtained the technical know-how to manufacture and utilize advanced cannons using high-power laser beams.
"Laser is being used in artillery systems for two purposes, and could help increase the volume of fire, mobility and precision,” he said.
Shahram said Iranian military forces are employing laser technology in preparing artillery systems, launching artillery ammunition, and in radars, which will accurately detect, track and hit the hostile targets.
He also said Iran had developed homegrown weapons with the laser technology, with the country’s military in possession of laser-powered weapons capable of annihilating stealth aircraft.
Shahram said Iran is using the laser systems to protect its "critical and vital centers”, adding that Iranian military experts were "on the cutting edge of laser technology”.
Alex Vatanka, a fellow at the Washington-based Middle East Institute, told Express.co.uk Iran’s missile capabilities are good. "They have invested in these recently, largely out of necessity.”
He pointed out that Iran’s military had recently down a U.S. military drone with equipment developed by its own scientists.
The incident was evidence that Iran was increasingly confident in asserting itself in the Middle East, Vatanka said.
"Whether their claims are true, and nobody knows for sure, the fact is that the perception in the region is that Iran downed a U.S. drone and the U.S. did not respond."
In March, commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)’s navy Rear Admiral Ali Reza Tangsiri said the country’s navy has developed a weapon to beat the American anti-drone laser weapon system.
Deputy director of foreign policy at Washington-based think tank Brookings Institution Suzanne Maloney told Sky News attacks such as the one which saw Iran shoot down the U.S. drone were likely to become more commonplace.