An Iranian base that is allegedly used to train foreign terrorists to operate unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is hosting part of the International Army Games 2022, raising questions about earlier reports that Russians are training to operate UAVs in Iran.
The Fars News Agency cited a senior officer in the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force as saying on 15 August that the Falcon Hunting UAV competition would be held in Kashan, near Isfahan, as part of the games. It will involve teams from Armenia, Belarus, Iran, and Russia.
Visiting teams in the International Army Games often use equipment supplied by the host, which was initially the Russian military in 2015, but the event has since expanded, with 12 countries hosting competitions this year.
The IRGC has a base at Kashan Airport that has been used for its larger UAVs since at least 2016, when it was identified as the location of the test site for a copy of the US RQ-170 stealth UAV that crashed in Iran in December 2011.
The 2022 “Falcon Hunting” unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) competition, part of the seventh iteration of wider annual military games launched by Russia in 2015, was hosted by the aerospace division of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in a city where many of the elite force’s drone tests are conducted.
Ali Balali, top adviser to IRGC aerospace chief Amir Ali Hajizadeh and the tournament’s spokesman, said the competition would be judged based on performance and consistency in aerial reconnaissance during both day and night, in addition to how the UAVs could help guide precise artillery fire.
The more than 70 military personnel who participated will also undergo physical readiness and shooting tests during the competition, which is expected to end on August 28, Balali told the state-affiliated Tasnim news website.
Balali said the goal of the games is communicating a “message of peace and friendship and the Islamic Republic of Iran’s joint cooperation with other countries to counter global terrorism”, in addition to facilitating an “exchange of experiences and military achievements” on drones.
Israeli Minister of Defence Benny Gantz said in September 2021 that the base is used to train members of Iranian-backed groups from Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen.
“These terrorists are trained to employ UAVs produced by Iran,” he said. “This base is a key point from which Iranian aerial terrorism is exported to the region.”
The White House said on 16 July that Russian officials visited the base on 8 June and 15 July for demonstrations of the Shahed-191 and Shahed-129 UAVs, both of which are capable of launching guided weapons.
Sources: ALJAZEERA; Janes