Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 1
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Ground Force is finalizing manufacture of a new homemade drone armed with the RPG (rocket-propelled grenade).
Commander of the IRGC Ground Forces Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour said that the combat drone will carry the RPG with no Backblast, Iran's Fars news agency reported Oct. 1.
Pakpour also noted that the drone has passed the tests and will be completed in the near future.
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 Islamic Republic has so far 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.
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.