Last week, Iran announced that it was producing a drone that carries precision-guided bombs, the Islamic Republic’s military leaders said, according to The Washington Free Beacon.
Iran unveiled the Mohajer 6 drone, which is “equipped with the smart Qa’em precision-striking bombs and different electro-optical explorers and different warheads, [and] can trace, intercept and destroy the target,” Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami said in a speech around the anniversary of the the Islamic Revolution.
The new drones will be delivered to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
Brig. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ ground forces, also attended the event.
Hatami said the drone can carry out surveillance, reconnaissance and combat missions, and can use short runways for takeoffs and landings.
On Saturday, Israel shot down an Iranian drone that was created from technology from a U.S. stealth aircraft captured in 2011.
Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, an Israeli military spokesman, said the aircraft was a copy of a U.S. RQ-170 Sentinel spy drone that was reverse-engineered by Iran.
“This is a serious Iranian attack on Israeli territory. Iran is dragging the region into an adventure in which it doesn’t know how it will end,” Israel’s chief military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis, said in a statement. “Whoever is responsible for this incident is the one who will pay the price.”
Experts who examined the footage of the downed aircraft said it appeared to be a Saeqah drone, which is based on an RQ-170.
Israel said the aircraft flew three or four miles inside its territory before being shot down.
“Iran seeks to use Syrian territory to attack Israel for its professed goal of destroying Israel,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. “Israel holds Iran and its Syrian host responsible for today’s aggression. We will continue to do whatever is necessary to protect our sovereignty and our security.”
