Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi
Iran’s Minister of Defence, Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi says that the country is manufacturing new models of unmanned combat aircraft.
“We have had advanced capabilities in terms of unmanned aircraft; with regard to combat drones we have had a number of models, and we also have some models under production,” Vahidi told reporters on the sidelines of a conference.
The Defence Minister pointed out that Iran’s Armed Forces have predicted the areas where they can paralyze the enemies in any potential military engagement, adding, “That war, is a kind of war that we are not looking for; however, if the enemy seeks to take action, we will use all aspects of our capabilities in sophisticated areas.”
Vahidi made reference to the downing of a US unmanned aircraft by Iran’s Armed Forces, saying the incident demonstrated Iran’s might and readiness against the enemy plans. In response to a question about Iran’s plan to reverse engineer the captured aircraft, the defense minister did not provide any details, noting that the specifics regarding the issue are confidential.
“We have already produced several types of combat drones, as well,” he said, and added, “And we are now mass-producing a number of them.” ”We are moving on the path of perfection,” he said. Iran successfully tested a home-made radar-evading UAS with bombing capabilities in June 2009. In February 2011, Iran inaugurated the production line of two home-made Unmanned Aircraft with bombing and reconnaissance capabilities. The two hi-tech drones named ‘Ra’d’ (Thunder) and ‘Nazir’ (Harbinger) are capable of conducting long-range reconnaissance, patrolling, assault and bombing missions with high precision. Ra’d which is a UAS of choice for assault and bombing missions has the capability to destroy the specified targets with high pinpoint precision.
Iran started construction of a plant in the Northern province of Mazandaran in 2008 to mass produce UAS for different civilian and military missions.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in September unveiled the country’s first home-made combat Unmanned Aircraft. The combat drone, named Karrar, was unveiled in a special ceremony in Tehran marking the national ‘Day of Defense Industry’. The Karrar UAS is capable of carrying a military payload to carry out bombing missions against ground targets. It is also capable of flying long distances at a very high speed.
Sources: Press TV, Fars News Agency