Press TV - Iran has unveiled an�Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) base for its fleet of drones which have given the country a remarkable capability in the fight against terrorists and protecting its borders.�

Head of the Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense Base Farzad Esmaili (seen below) inaugurated the airstrip on Sunday, as the headquarters released a video of UAVs�parked on the tarmac at the undisclosed site.

In an address to�the inauguration ceremony, Esmaili described Iran's drone�capabilities "an award for the�heroic nation," as he�sent�a stern warning to the country's�enemies.

�Maybe, the enemy thinks it�can attack us. But the main question is how it is supposed to escape unscathed,� he said.

Iran is regarded as a bona fide drone power among a few countries with operationally deployed armed drones and its�extensive unmanned aerial vehicle program�dates�back to the Iraqi war of the 1980s against the Islamic Republic.

Esmaili said,�"Air defense centers throughout the entire territory�of the Islamic Iran work in tandem with the indigenous integrated air defense command and control system.�



Iran's UAV program has expanded in recent years with�more than a dozen models�operating for a variety of functions ranging from surveillance, to intelligence gathering, carrying bombs and Kamikaze operations.

They have�been playing a significant role in the fight against Takfiri terrorists as well as monitoring US warships in the Persian Gulf.

Esmaili touched on Iran's downing or�capture of intruding drones, including an Israeli Hermes which was shot down in�October 2014.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said at the time that its forces intercepted and hit the spy aircraft on its way�to the Natanz nuclear facility in the central Isfahan province.

In December 2011, Iran�grounded a US RQ-170 Sentinel, using electronic warfare techniques, as the stealth aircraft was flying over the Iranian city of Kashmar�near the Afghan border.