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Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 13
By Fatih Karimov – Trend:
Iran's army has deployed a suicide drone in massive ongoing military drill in the southeast of the country, Fars news agency reported Dec. 13.
The drone dubbed “Ra’ad 85” successfully hit the determined target during the last day of Army Ground Forces’ three-day drill, namely Muhammad Rasulullah 4 (Muhammad the Messenger of God).
The suicide drone’s operational range covers the distance of 100 kilometers.
The drone can fly with a speed up to 450 kilometers per hour and is capable to transfer images online during its mission.
Ra’ad 85 is designed to crash into large-scale targets with a 5 meter precision rate.
Iranian military officials say that the drone acts as a mobile bomb, and is capable of destroying fixed and mobile targets.
The Ground Force’s plan to use suicide drones dates back to September 2013.
Tehran has gained a lot of experience in making drones after the country first used the aircraft for military use.
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.
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.