Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 8
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Iran provides Venezuela with drones, head of Iranian parliament National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi said, the Islamic Republic Fars news agency reported Dec. 8.
Boroujerdi said that Iranian made unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are operational in Venezuela over the past several years. He added that Mexico also is keen to import Iran-made drones.
"During my recent visit to Mexico they announced that want Iranian drones," Boroujerdi said.
Earlier in 2012 some western media outlets reported that Iran is planning to build drones for the Venezuelan military. In 2013 Venezuela reportedly launched Iran-built drones to patrol drug trafficking.
The Islamic Republic has so far produced various drones, including Ababil, Fotros, Hazem, Karrar (long range attack drone), Mohajer, Sarir, Shahed 129, Yasir and Zohal.
Iran unveiled its first homemade fighter drone that carries air-to-air missiles on Sept. 23.
The Iranian media outlets reported that the drone is capable of destroying all types of aircrafts including fighters, small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and helicopters.
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.
The country 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.
Iran started mass production of the "Yasir" UAV in September 2013. Yasir can fly at an altitude of 15,000 ft., be in flight for eight hours, cover the distance of 200 km, and does not need a runway. The UAV is equipped with light powerful modern cameras, and can precisely control the target.
Edited by CN
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Umid Niayesh is Trend Agency's staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @UmidNiayesh