Iran has strengthened its air defense capabilities by adding combat drones equipped with air-to-air missiles to its arsenal. This was reported by state media IRNA on Sunday.
“Dozens of Karrar drones armed with air-to-air missiles have been added to air defense across the country’s border areas,” the official IRNA news agency said .
The drone, with an operational range of up to 1,000 kilometers, was unveiled Sunday morning in a televised ceremony held at a military academy in Tehran.
“The enemy must now rethink their strategy” as Iranian forces have “become stronger,” IRNA quoted Iran’s army chief, General Abdolrahim Mousavi, as saying.
The Karrar interceptor drone, the first version of which was launched in 2010, has been equipped with “Majid” thermal missiles with a range of eight kilometers, “entirely made in Iran,” the agency added.
The drone “succeeded in its operational tests” during military exercises held in October, Mousavi said.
Iran’s development of military weapons has sparked concern in many countries, especially the United States and Israel, the Islamic republic’s archenemies.
The latter accuses Tehran of providing fleets of drones to its allies in the Middle East, especially to the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah, and to the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Iran also supports the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has been embroiled in war with Israel since launching a deadly attack there on October 7.
Tehran has been accused by Kyiv and its Western allies of providing drones to Russia for use in the Ukraine war, a claim Tehran denies.
However, Western countries implemented several harsh sanctions against Iran over alleged arms sales.
Iran began producing drones in the 1980s during its eight-year war with Iraq.
Source : Tempo