The Defense Ministry of Iran is going to supply the Army with 1,000 military drones soon, Tasnim news agency reports. The Iranian Defense Ministry and the Army on Monday signed a “strategic agreement” on the promotion of drone power and the equipment carried by unmanned military aircraft.
Under phase 1 of the agreement, the Defense Ministry has undertaken to equip the Army with 1,000 drones of undisclosed types in a short time span. Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami told reporters after signing the agreement that Iran is ranked fifth or sixth in the world in terms of drone capabilities.
Among the various types of UAVs developed by Iran, the Shahed 129 is a single-engine medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) designed by Shahed Aviation Industries for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The Shahed 129 is capable of combat and reconnaissance missions and has an endurance of 24 hours; it is similar in size, shape and role to the American MQ-1 Predator and is widely considered the most capable drone in Iranian service. The UAV has been used for airstrikes in the Syrian Civil War and for border patrol on Iran’s eastern border. Together with the Saegheh, the Shahed 129 is expected to form the backbone of Iran’s high-end UAV fleet for at least the next decade.