Iran unveils new drones in military drill: What to know – Al-Monitor
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Excerpt:
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps introduced a number of new drones during large-scale war games on Monday. The drills come as Iran works to shore up its strength in the face of increasingly hostile relations with the US and Israeli governments.
The drill, “Great Prophet-19,” is taking place in Shavariyeh, in Iran’s southwestern province of Khuzestan, and features Iranian-made drones “for surveillance and precise fire control,” senior IRGC commander Hamidreza Bahmani told IRNA.
IRNA said that the drill “aims to evaluate the effectiveness of defense plans against possible attacks, among other objectives.”
During the drill, Iran unveiled seven new kamikaze and reconnaissance drones, Iran’s semi-official Mehr News Agency reported, including:
- The Bina reconnaissance drone with an operational range of 40 kilometers
- The Qandil 4 and 5 reconnaissance drones, with a range of 100 kilometers and a flight endurance of five and 10 hours, respectively
- The Arbaeen vertical take-off and landing drone with a range of 10 kilometers and carrying a seven-kilogram warhead
- The Raad 2 kamikaze drone with a range of 20 kilometers and a five-kilogram warhead
- The Raad 3 kamikaze drone with a range of 100 kilometers and a 12-kilogram warhead
- The Saeqeh suicide drone with a range of 20 kilometers and a one-kilogram warhead
- The Redwan loitering drone, with a range of 20 kilometers and a flight duration of 20 minutes