Teheran, Iran: The drone, which Iran’s Defense Ministry claims can stay in the air for 24 hours and has the range to reach the country’s arch-enemy Israel, is similar to America’s armed MQ-9 Reaper.
Iran’s official media The drone, known as the Mohajer-10, was pictured by the IRNA news agency with what appeared to be smoke machine fog underneath it as it was on exhibit at a conference commemorating Defense Industry Day.
A drone line produced by the Islamic Republic since 1985, “Mohajer” means “immigrant” in Farsi.
According to IRNA, the drone can travel at 210 kph (130 mph), reach altitudes of up to 24,000 feet, and transport up to 300 kilograms (660 pounds) of explosives. It added that the drone might transport a camera and electronic surveillance gear. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s protege and hardline president of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, also saw the drone on Tuesday.
In remarks broadcast on state television, Raisi stated, “Today, we can firmly introduce Iran as an advanced and technological nation to the world.”
State TV stated that he reaffirmed Iran’s position on cordial relations with “all countries in the world,” adding that Iran’s military forces would strike off any hand that would reach out to invade Iran.
The Associated Press could not immediately verify the claims made regarding the drone’s skills, but a state television affiliate published a video of the drone taking flight from a runway. Additionally, long-range drones like the Reaper need satellite communications and ground stations.
When contacted for comment on Tuesday, representatives in Israel, which operates its long-distance, high-endurance drones, were immediately unavailable.
There is no evidence that Iran has ever taken a General Atomics Reaper drone, used by the U.S. Air Force and other American allies as a “hunter-killer” drone that can fly at high altitudes for extended periods and follow a target before attacking. Iran has previously taken American drones or pieces of them. In July, North Korea displayed drones that resembled the Reaper and may have been made using knowledge of the aircraft that was made accessible to the public.
An RQ-170 Sentinel flown by the CIA in December 2011 to keep an eye on Iran’s nuclear sites was captured by Iran after it crossed Iranian airspace from neighboring Afghanistan. Later, Iran developed their versions of the drone through reverse engineering.
In the Strait of Hormuz in 2019, Iran shot down a U.S. Navy RQ-4A Global Hawk amid heightened tensions over the failure of its nuclear agreement with major world countries.
As one allegedly carried out the 2020 attack in Baghdad that killed Qassem Soleimani, a senior Iranian general in its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, The Reaper also has unique significance for Iran.
Separately, Iran said that on Tuesday, it had given its army and the Guard two different kinds of ballistic missiles, one named Soleimani.
Over the past few years, Iran has showcased several drones that it claims are capable of long-distance flights. It is still being determined how they have been applied in battle.
However, other Iranian drones have played a significant role in Russia’s ongoing conflict with Ukraine. Tehran has made many contradicting claims regarding the drones, initially denying that it provided them to Moscow and later asserting that it only sold drones before the start of the war. However, the number of drones employed in the battle demonstrates Iran’s consistent supply of bomb-carrying missiles.
According to the White House in June, the Kremlin is reportedly helping Russia develop a drone manufacturing facility east of Moscow to secure a consistent supply of weapons.
