Google – AFP, 18 November 2013
Tehran — Iran on Monday unveiled a missile-equipped drone with a range of 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles), the official IRNA news agency reported.
Iran
unveils its new "Fotros" drone at a ceremony in Tehran, on
November 18,
2013 (Isna News Agency/AFP/File, Isna)
|
Tehran — Iran on Monday unveiled a missile-equipped drone with a range of 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles), the official IRNA news agency reported.
"The
Fotros drone has an operational range of 2,000 kilometres and can fly at an
altitude of 25,000 feet, with a flight time of 16 to 30 hours," Defence
Minister Mohammad Dehgan was quoted as saying.
Dehgan said
the new drone could carry out reconnaissance missions or launch air-to-surface
missile strikes.
The
aircraft was tested "successfully" and "shows that sanctions
imposed by the enemies are not an obstacle to the progress of the defence
industry," the minister told the unveiling ceremony.
In recent
years, Iran has launched an ambitious drone programme, causing worry in the
United States and the West.
In late
September, the elite Revolutionary Guards announced the mass production of the
"Shahed 129" drone, which it said has a range of 1,700 kilometres, is
capable of carrying eight missiles and can fly for 24 hours.
In the same
month, Iran unveiled a reconnaissance drone named "Yasseer," which
was said to be capable of flying for eight hours with a range of 200 kilometres
and at an altitude of 4,500 meters.
Yasseer was
based on the US ScanEagle drone, a model of which Tehran claimed to have
captured in December 2012 and reproduced since then.
The Iranian
army also recently boasted that it was producing a series of drones called
Rad-85.
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