28 Mar 2024
Saturday 21 February 2015 - 10:44
Story Code : 152111

Iran to increase home-built drones' flight range: Cmdr.

Iran to increase home-built drones
[caption id="attachment_152114" align="alignright" width="195"]A file photo of Iranian-made Ababil reconnaissance drone A file photo of Iranian-made Ababil reconnaissance drone[/caption]

A senior Iranian official says the country is working to increase the flight range of itsdomestically-madedrones.

Irans Aviation Industry Organizationis manufacturing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)with a longer flightrange than previous models, said the organization's deputy directorKarim Bani Tarafi in an interview withIRNA on Saturday.

The new drones will also be able to fly at higher speedand altitudes and capture more accurate images, he added.

All UAVscurrently used by Irans Armed Forceshave been completely designed and manufactured by localexperts, he noted.

Bani Tarafi said different types of equipment, including radars, could beinstalled on the new drones.

In recent years, Iran has made major breakthroughs in its defense sector and attained self-sufficiency in producing important military equipment and systems, including a variety of domestically-manufactured drones.

The Islamic Republic unveiled its first domestically-developed long-range combat drone, Karrar (Striker), in August 2010. The country has, ever since, manufactured a whole range of other high-tech surveillance and combat UAVs.

In November 2014, Iran put into operation a final domestically-manufactured version of the sophisticated US RQ-170 stealth aircraft, which was downed with minimal damage by the Iranian Armed Forces electronic warfare unit in December, 2011while flying over the Iranian city of Kashmar, some 225 kilometers (140 miles) from the Afghan border.



The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)s Aerospace Force in August 2014 intercepted and shot down an Israeli stealth spy drone that intended to reach the nuclear facility in Natanz. The UAVwas targeted by a surface-to-air missile before it reached the area.



The Islamic Republic has repeatedly assured other countries that its military might poses no threat to other countries since its defense doctrine is based entirely on deterrence.

By Press TV
https://theiranproject.com/vdca6un6649nm61.tgk4.html
Your Name
Your Email Address