Iran builds own aerial drones with strike capabilities

MOSCOW, February 8 (RIA Novosti)

Iran started on Monday production of two domestically-developed
unmanned aerial vehicles capable of delivering high-precision bombing
strikes and performing reconnaissance missions, the Fars news agency
said.

Iran unveiled the drones, dubbed Ra’d (Thunder) and Nazir (Harbinger),
at a plant in the northern province of Mazandaran.

"We plan to manufacture UAVs…at this site" Fars quoted Hamed Saeedi,
managing director of Farnas Aerospace Company in charge of the
project, as saying.

He said both UAVs were short-range, low-altitude drones with reduced
radar-detection signature.

According to analysts, Iran has recently made significant progress in
developing various types of combat planes and succeeded in gaining the
technical know-how for producing aircraft and drones with stealth
capabilities.

Iran launched a domestic arms development program after a U.S. weapons
embargo was imposed during its 1980-88 war with Iraq. Since 1992, the
Islamic Republic has reportedly produced its own Saeqeh and Azarakhsh
jet fighters, stealth-capable Ghadir submarine, missile boats,
torpedoes, tanks and armored carrier vehicles.

Iran frequently holds military drills and shows off modern weaponry in
an effort to demonstrate its readiness to thwart any attack on its
territory.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress