Iran Starts Mass Production of Advanced Unmanned Bombers
News number: 881119106414:02 | 2010-02-08Defence
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8811191064

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran on Monday inaugurated the production line of two
home-made Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) with bombing and reconnaissance
capabilities.

The two hi-tech drones named 'Ra'd' (Thunder) and 'Nazir' (Harbinger) are
capable of conducting long-range reconnaissance, patrolling, assault and
bombing missions with high precision.

Ra'd which is a UAV of choice for assault and bombing missions has the
capability to destroy the specified targets with high pinpoint precision.

Experts believe that once the UAV enters the scene of aerial missions, it
would enhance the reconnaissance, patrolling and defensive power of the
Islamic Republic of Iran's Armed Force.

Iran has recently made good progress in the air industry and has succeeded
in gaining the technical know-how for producing stealth aircraft and drones.

Iran successfully tested a home-made radar-evading UAV with bombing
capabilities in June. Also in 2008, the country's Defense Industries
launched production lines of two well-known home-made fighter jets, namely
Saeqeh (Thunderbolt) and Azarakhsh (Lightening).

Last March, Iran started construction of a plant in the northern province of
Mazandaran to mass produce Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).

Hamed Saeedi, Managing Director of Farnas Aerospace Company in charge of the
project, said that his company has been dealing with designing and
manufacturing UAVs and reconnaissance and pilot training drones for the last
9 years.

"We plan to manufacture UAVs, including unmanned choppers and drones, at
this site" he said, referring to the plant in Mazandaran province.

Regarding specifications of the UAVs to be produced by the plant, Saeedi
noted, "Drones will be of the tactical type, with a short range of 400 to
500 meters flying altitude which cannot be detected by radio waves as they
will be stealth aircraft."

He singled out detection and control of contraband trafficking on land and
in the sea and assistance in firefighting operations, specially in the woods
as among other advantages of the UAVs to be manufactured in the plant.

Iranian army officials had announced in June that they have successfully
tested a home-made radar-evading Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) with bombing
capabilities.

"This airplane is a model drone built on a one-seventh scale for the defense
ministry," Commander of the Iranian Army Air Force General Hassan Shah Safi
announced in June, adding that the UAV bomber would be produced in actual
size and would join the Iranian Air Force fleet in the near future.

He explained that the UAV has been designed and manufactured for
reconnaissance and bombing missions, specially considering its radar-evading
advantage.

Tehran launched an arms development program during the 1980-88 Iraqi imposed
war on Iran, to compensate for a US weapons embargo. Since 1992, Iran has
produced its own tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles and fighter
planes.

Yet, Iranian officials have always stressed that the country's military and
arms programs serve defensive purposes and should not be perceived as a
threat to any other country.