Is Iran Becoming a UAV Power?

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Russia has been seeking Iran’s help to achieve a long- range drone technology, according to the Iranian Chief of Staff, Brigadier General Mohammad Baqeri.

“There are only one or two countries, including the US and Israel , which have the knowledge of manufacturing long-range drones, capable of recognizing and targeting spot areas with one square meter dimension,” Baqeri said. Iran has the knowledge of manufacturing the long-range drones, he said.

Trend News Agency reports that It is not the first time that Iranian officials say that.

In a similar statement, Manouchehr Manteghi, secretary of Iran’s Technology Development and Knowledge-based Aviation and Aeronautical Industries Headquarters, said last year that Russia wants to import the technology of one of the Iranian-made drones.

The report mentions that Iran earlier gave Russia a copy of ScanEagle- a US spy drone as proof that its elite forces have reverse-engineered and mass produced the American unmanned aerial vehicle.

Tehran has gained a lot of experience in making drones after the country first used the aircraft for military use.

So far Iran has unveiled various domestically produced drones, including Ababil, Fotros, Hazem, Karrar (long range attack drone), Mohajer, Sarir, Shahed 129, Yasir and Zohal.

The country unveiled its first domestically manufactured long-range UAV named Karrar in 2010. The first Iranian medium-altitude long-endurance UAV, the Shahed-129 was unveiled in September 2012, which is capable of carrying out combat and reconnaissance eight missions for 24 hours and has a range of 1,700 km.

Iran also unveiled its largest yet homemade UAV, titled ‘Fotros’ in 2013. Fotros has a range of some 2,000 kilometers and is capable of launching air-to-surface missile strikes. The drone can fly at an altitude of 25,000 feet, with a flight time of 16 to 30 hours, says Trend News Agency.