Iran launches unmanned aircraft production
Iran has established an unmanned aircraft production line in the
country, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy
Commander Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi said, Trend news agency reported
referring to Fars News Agency.
Referring to the unmanned Scan Eagle UAV type drone, Fadavi said
the established production line would be producing drones similar
to the Scan Eagle drone.
Noting that the Scan Eagle is a purely tactical drone capable of
recording 1,5 million hours, Fadavi added that Iran has previously
captured two Scan Eagle drones, and has fully extracted all their
data.
On Nov. 25 Iran issued a warning against the repeated violations of
its airspace by US drones and the illegal moves of US Navy warships
in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman.
Earlier in November, Iran's military repelled an unidentified
aircraft that had entered the country's airspace "above the
territorial waters of the Islamic Republic in the Persian
Gulf".
The Pentagon claimed two Iranian warplanes had fired at a US drone
as it conducted a routine, but classified surveillance mission over
the Persian Gulf about 16 nautical miles off the Iranian coast.
However, Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh, commander of the
Aerospace Division of IRGC, revealed the drone had been driven away
by Iranian forces as it attempted to gather oil and economic
intelligence around Kharg Island in southern Iran.
The general stated that the country's armed forces would respond
with stronger action if US drones attempted to violate Iran's
airspace again.
In 2011, Iranian defense forces identified and shot down unmanned
U.S. RQ-170 drone, later achieving control over its data. The U.S.
claimed the drone landed due to undisclosed technical reasons.
Ali Fadavi also said that Iran might be holding military maneuvers
in the Strait of Hormuz till the end of the year, adding that the
"U.S. has no knowledge of IRGC Marine Corps' power".
He stressed that Iran should be working towards becoming a maritime
nation, strengtheningits capabilities in the Persian Gulf to deal
with possible enemy threats.