Iranian official media announced on Sunday that Iran It has strengthened its air defense capabilities by deploying long-range combat drones equipped with air-to-air missiles.
The Iranian “IRNA” news agency reported, “A group of “Karrar” marches armed with “Majid” (air-to-air) missiles joined the units of the army’s air defense force.”
These marches were shown this morning during a televised ceremony organized at a military university in Tehran.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army, Major General Abdul Rahim Mousavi, said, “The enemies must review their strategies in air combat, especially in the field of drones, and today the Air Defense Force will have the upper hand in air battles in this field.”
IRNA reported that the Karrar defense drone, the first version of which was unveiled in 2010, is equipped with the Majeed thermal missile, which has a range of up to 8 kilometers and is “entirely made in Iran.”
Major General Mousavi said, “We have long felt the need to have a flying object made by local scientists, at a very cheap price, that can perform tasks that we cannot do, instead of us having to do these tasks at exorbitant costs. This work was completed and passed successful operational testing for the first time in maneuvers not long ago.
He continued, “About a month ago, some of these armed drones joined the army’s air defense forces, and today the second phase of the Karar drones, armed with the Majeed, air-to-air missile joining the air defense areas, was completed, and they will add great capabilities to the air defense forces.”
The development of Iran’s military arsenal raises concerns in many countries, especially… United State And Israel, which accuses Tehran of providing drones to its allies in the Middle East, in particular Hizb allah Lebanese, and the rebels The Houthis In Yemen.
The Islamic Republic was also accused of providing Russia with drones to carry out attacks in Ukraine, and Tehran admitted this. It confirmed that these deliveries took place before the attack on Ukraine, but that did not spare it from a package of Western sanctions.
Iran began manufacturing drones in the 1980s, during its 8-year war with Iraq.