Squadrons of unmanned aerial vehicles flown by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps attended a large-scale war game over the Persian Gulf last week to practice an assault operation.
The strike aircraft, including 50 Iranian versions of the US RQ-170 Sentinel stealth drones, took off from bases as far as a thousand kilometers away from the operation zone to bomb the target.
During the war game, attended by IRGC Lieutenant Commander Brigadier General Hossein Salami and Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the 50 Iranian RQ-170 drones and a number of other combat and assault pilotless planes raided a spot on Bani Farur Island in Iran’s territorial waters in the Persian Gulf.
All the aircraft in the war game successfully bombed the target at the same time.
In comments on the sidelines of the drill, Commander of the Khatam al-Anbia Headquarters Major General Gholam Ali Rashid said the large-scale war game with such a high number of homegrown drones, some of which have reached the target zone from far distances for a precise air raid, should humiliate the US.
In separate remarks, Brigadier General Hajizadeh said the presence of squadrons of drones in the airspace of a small area heralds the rise of new air power in Iran.
He said the drones, belonging to the IRGC units in the provinces of Khuzestan, Bushehr, Fars and Hormozgan, launched the simultaneous air raid on the target on the Bani Farur Island.
The IRGC also employed a number of drones similar to the American MQ-1 Predator, the general noted, describing such a breakthrough as a slap in the face of the US and a reminder that the huge US military spending in the region produces such results.
In December, the IRGC Ground Force launched massive military drills in southern parts of Iran.
Iran’s Armed Forces hold routine military exercises throughout the year.
Iranian officials have repeatedly underscored that the country will not hesitate to strengthen its military capabilities, including its missile power, which are entirely meant for defense, and that Iran’s defense capabilities will be never subject to negotiations.
Back in February last year, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei called for efforts to maintain and boost Iran’s defense capabilities, hitting back at the enemies for disputing the country’s missile program.
“Without a moment of hesitation, the country must move to acquire whatever is necessary for defense, even if the whole world is opposed to it,” Ayatollah Khamenei said on February 18, 2018.
Source: Tasnim News Agency
- Towards Jerusalem [ – Ed.]
I am humiliated….. Not! I do think a multi drone strike by an enemy of the state is something to take note of, and a strike package of low observable UAS is nothing to sneeze at. One would hope that the U.S. has solid countermeasures on its fleet, but to be honest I doubt they would be effective against 50 drones on a simultaneous TOT raid. Of course Our response with cruise missiles all over their country, bunker busters and runway cratering munitions would insure they probably will have a hard time recovering those assets but that is a “horse left the barn already” scenario at best.
I find it interesting that they used the word BOMB instead of strike, Are they actually using gravity based dumb bombs on these instead of missiles? That would significantly reduce the numbers of effective engagements against a defended target if they have to actually overfly the target a la “12 O’clock High”….
But small a fist full of guided munitions lobbed from a fleet of these while the target is illuminated with a laser from the pathfinder package would no doubt inundate any defense system and possibly result in some hits.