Iranian President Ahmadinejad: Attack drone with 1,000 km range serves defensive purposes (death to enemies)

#1 News number: 8905311558 18:18 | 2010-08-22
Defence

President Stresses Defensive Nature of Iran’s Newly Unveiled Drone
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8905311558

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Sunday that
Iran’s newly unveiled combat drone will merely serve defensive purposes.

“The jet has a message of human dignity and honor and salvage for mankind
before conveying a message of death to the enemies of humanity,” President
Ahmadinejad said, addressing a ceremony here in Tehran today marking the
national ‘Day of Defense Industry’.

During the ceremony, Ahmadinejad unveiled the country’s first home-made
combat Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), named Karrar.

Karrar is capable of carrying a military payload for bombing missions
against ground targets. It is also capable of flying long distances at a
very high speed. According to Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General
Ahmad Vahidi, Karrar has a flight range of 1,000 km.

Ahmadinejad further underlined that Iran is resolved to develop such a high
capability in the defense industries that foreign states are discouraged
from posing military threats against his country.

“We should reach a point where all the weapons of the enemy lose their
quality and capabilities due to our defensive power,” Ahmadinejad noted.

He stressed that Tehran is seeking to pin down enemy in its own field, and
added, “The goal is achievable.”

#2 News number: 8905311487 17:24 | 2010-08-22
Defence
Iran’s New Drone Can Hit Targets 1000km Away
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8905311487

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi
announced on Sunday that the country’s first home-made long-range Unmanned
Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) named ‘Karrar’ has a flight range of 1,000km.

“Karrar’s flying radius reaches 1000km,” Vahidi said on the sidelines of a
ceremony to unveil Karrar, and added, “In addition to Karrar, Iran possesses
other UAVs with a flying range of 1,000 km.”

“The jet drone enjoys abundant capabilities, including its far range and
operational depth,” he said, adding that Iranian experts have increased the
flying altitude of the UAV.

Vahidi also reiterated that Iranian drones can perform different missions
and are capable of recording events and transmitting them to their military
headquarters.

Iran in early February inaugurated the production line of two home-made 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 2009. 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).

Iran started construction of a plant in the northern province of Mazandaran
in March 2009 to mass produce various types of UAVs for a wide variety of
missions.

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.

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.