Video - Iran Unveils New Combat Drone, reverse engineered from 'Donated' RQ 170 Class.

Video - Iran Unveils New Combat Drone, reverse engineered from 'Donated' RQ 170 Class. HT: Avionist.

On Oct. 1, Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) unveiled a new combat unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) called Saeqeh (Thunderbolt) during an expo showcasing the latest UAV projects of IRGC’s Aerospace Division.

Belonging to the Simorgh class, the new drone is a long-range unmanned aerial vehicle capable of carrying four precision-guided bombs, modeled on the American RQ-170 Sentinel stealth drone captured in 2011.


Commenting on the latest achievements by the IRGC forces, Commander of the IRGC’s Aerospace Division Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh said that “today Iran has better aviation systems and equipment than the US and expressed hope that one day Iran will have the same might in the UAV industry as in the missile sector.”

So, it looks like the Iranians have not only copied the RQ-170, but they have also developed something new based on the captured “Beast of Kandahar” whose crash landing in Iran remains a mystery. A sensibly smaller drone that retains the same wing shape as the Sentinel but lacks the frontal air intake of the Lockheed Martin’s stealth drone.

Moreover it’s not clear where does the landing gear (if any) comes out from. Hmmm.........Thanks Hussein for the 'Kamikaze drones'.Read the full story here.

Russia is completing the modernization of the S-300 System meant for Iran.

Russia is completing the modernization of the S-300 System meant for Iran. (Kommersant)[GoogleTranslated].

Russia will supply Iran with an improved S-300, which is now being finalized specifically for the Iranian side. This was reported by "RIA Novosti" on Thursday.

Russian presidential aide on military-technical cooperation Vladimir Kozhin. " Time passed and it was partially modified, finalized the individual elements,This is the most complex of the C-300, models which Iran would get. "- said Mr. Kozhin.

Previously, "Kommersant" reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree that would allow Iran to convey the Russian anti-aircraft missile systems S-300. The Russian Defense Ministry said that, if necessary, be able to quickly deliver the S-300 to Iran. More here.

Related: 

Iran Promises Not to Reverse Engineer Russian S-300 Missile Defense System

Iran Promises Not to Reverse Engineer Russian S-300 Missile Defense System

Iran Promises Not to Reverse Engineer Russian S-300 Missile Defense System. (Algemeiner).

Brig. Gen. Farzad Esmayeeli, the Commander of Iran’s Khatamul Anbia Air Defense Base, announced on Monday that his country does not intend to reverse engineer the sophisticated Russian S-300 missile air defense system.

According to Esmayeeli, “S-300 is an operational system and doesn’t need reverse engineering,” and “since the S-300 is a defensive operational system, it will be deployed in specific spots and will not be reverse engineered.”

According to semi-official state news agency Fars, Esmayeeli also emphasized that the Khatamul Anbia Air Defense Base’s experts have undergone the necessary training, and are ready to use the Russian-made missile defense shield.

Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his decision to end a ban on the sale of the S-300 missile defense shield to Iran. Iran’s Defense Minister, Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehqan said the “decision came as a result of the two countries’ political leaders’ will to develop and promote cooperation in all fields.”

Dehqan also announced that Iran would be testing its own, home-made version of the S-300 system, called the Bavar 373 - which it claims was designed and developed after the Russians embargoed the delivery of their systems - before the end of the current Iranian year.

He told reporters, “we expect to be able to test the [domestic] production model of the S-300 by the end of the current [Iranian] year.”

In April, Iran displayed its Bavar 373 missile defense system during military parades south of Tehran. The Iranians claimed their domestic version is superior to the Russian original, with increased mobility, agility and reduced launch-preparation time.

Israel has long lobbied against the sale of the advanced weaponry to Iran, fearing it may hinder a military operation against Iran’s nuclear sites.

The Algemeiner Journal

Video - IRGC Airforce Commander Hajizadeh: Our Replica of the Downed U.S. Drone Will Give the Americans a Heart Attack

Video - First video of flying Iranian Version of RQ-170 Drone shown on Iranian Tv

Video - First video of flying Iranian Version of RQ-170 Drone shown on Iranian Tv.(Alalam).


Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh announced that the Iranian version of the RQ-170 drone with the capability of conducting bombing and reconnaissance missions has had its first flight after tests. Video can be watched here.

Update: Tehran Offers to Gift Iran-Made RQ-170 to US

Iran Flies Final Model of U.S. 'Donated' drone RQ-170.

Iran Flies Final Model of U.S. 'Donated' drone RQ-170. (Fars).

Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh announced that the Iranian version of the RQ-170 drone with the capability of conducting bombing and reconnaissance missions has had its first flight after tests.

"We had promised to fly the final model of RQ-170 in the second half of the current (Iranian) year (which started on March 21) and this has happened and the footage of its flight will be released soon," Hajizadeh told reporters in Tehran on Monday morning.

Elaborating on the Iranian version of the RQ-170 drone which has been manufactured through the reverse engineering of the US drone which was tracked and hunted down in Iran late in 2011 and has been equipped by the IRGC with bombing capability, Hajizadeh had informed in September that "the prototype model of this drone (which was 60% smaller than the original drone in size) flew about three months ago and God willing, the final model of the plane will fly this year".

He said that the Americans themselves had also thought of providing the drone with bombing capability and foreseen some special parts for mounting bombs on the aircraft. Yet, they used it for reconnaissance and spying operations, he said.

"But we will use it for both missions," continued the General.

Also in his September remarks, Hajizadeh referred to the downing of the US RQ-170 drone in 2011, and said more important than using its technology had been the "disclosure of the Americans' most advanced capabilities and weak points to us".

In December, Lieutenant Commander of the IRGC Brigadier General Hossein Salami announced that the Iranian version of the US drone, RQ-170, would be unveiled to the public soon.

“The construction of this drone will finish soon and most of the job has been done now,” General Salami told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Tehran in December 2013.

In January 2013, a deputy commander of the Iranian Navy announced that the country's Army had hunted two more advanced RQ type UAVs. Read full story here.

Video - Iran produced seized US RQ 170 Drone......Thanks for the gift.

Iran Has Copied 'donated' U.S. Drone and created 'mini' copy as well.

Photo credit: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sitting next to the captured U.S. drone and its copy, at an IRGC Aerospace Force exhibition. Tehran, Sunday 11 May 2014 (khamenei.ir/AFP)
 
Iran Has Copied 'donated' U.S. Drone and created 'mini' copy as well. HT: UskowiOnIran.

Iran said yesterday it has successfully copied a U.S. drone it captured in December 2011. In a ceremony in Tehran, attended by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the IRGC Aerospace Force showed the captured American RQ-170 Sentinel next to its copy built in Iran. IRGC-ASF announced that its drone will be flight tested soon.

“This drone is very important for reconnaissance missions,” Khamenei said, standing in front of the Iranian copy of the American drone. (IRIB/AFP, 11 May)

Iran has developed a robust drone program, and has built 4-5 different models for reconnaissance and operations use. An Iranian TV documentary aired today showed an Iranian drone above a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf. It was possible to see American personnel working on planes and helicopters aboard the carrier.Hmmmm......Thanks Hussein.