Shahed 171 Simorgh

The Shahed 171 Simorgh (sometimes S-171 and called IRN-170 by the US government[1]) is an Iranian jet-powered flying wing unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) produced by Shahed Aviation Industries.[3]

Shahed 171 Simorgh
S-171
Role Multirole[1]
National origin Iran
Manufacturer Shahed Aviation Industries
First flight 2014[2]
Status Active
Primary user IRGC AF
Produced 2010s–present

Its design is based on a reverse engineered American RQ-170 UAV captured by Iran in 2011 and modified to carry guided missiles.[3] It is one of two Iranian flying wing UAVs based on the RQ-170, along with the Saegheh, a smaller version, with which it is often confused.

Etymology

Simorgh is a Persian word deriving from Middle Persian 𐭮𐭩𐭭𐭬𐭥𐭫𐭥 sēnmurw,[4][5] which was a benevolent mythical bird in Persian mythology.

Design

The Simorgh is a reverse engineered RQ-170. There are multiple unknown variants, one of which is modified to play the role of a UCAV armed with 4 missiles. An author stated it was a crude mock-up mostly made out of fiberglass.[6][7] It was used with munitions during the 2020 Joint Exercise Zolfaghar 99.[8]

Status
Shahed 171

According to the United States Government, a company associated with Imam Hossein University, Paravar Pars Company, was involved in the reverse engineering and research, development, and production of the Shahed 171.[9]

Two were under construction as of 2014.[10] In 2014 Iran said that they would have four in service by March 2015.[11]

The UAV was first seen in May 2015 and was shown flying on Iranian TV in October 2016.[12] Jane's analysis placed the UAV at Kashan Air Base.[12][13]

Some sources report that a Shahed 171 may have been shot down in the February 2018 Israel–Syria incident, but the UAV was probably the very similar Saegheh.[3]

Operators
 Iran

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

References
  1. Iran Military Power (PDF). Defense Intelligence Agency. 2019. p. 68. ISBN 978-0-16-095157-2.
  2. Opall-Rome, Barbara (13 February 2018). "Israel Air Force says seized Iranian drone is a knockoff of US Sentinel".
  3. "Sentinels, Saeqehs and Simorghs: An Open Source Survey of Iran's New Drone in Syria". bellingcat. 13 February 2018.
  4. A. Jeroussalimskaja, "Soieries sassanides", in Splendeur des sassanides: l'empire perse entre Rome et la Chine (Brussels, 1993) 114, 117–118, points out that the spelling senmurv, is incorrect as noted by David Jacoby, "Silk Economics and Cross-Cultural Artistic Interaction: Byzantium, the Muslim World, and the Christian West", Dumbarton Oaks Papers 58 (2004): 197–240, esp. 212 note 82.
  5. Schmidt, Hanns-Peter (2002). Simorgh in Encyclopedia Iranica.
  6. "Iranian Copy of U.S. Unmanned Stealth Aircraft is a Fake - USNI News". 12 May 2014.
  7. "Farsnews". en.farsnews.com. Archived from the original on 2019-08-24. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
  8. Hanna, Andrew (14 September 2020), "Iran Tests Weapons During War Game", The Iran Primer, United States Institute of Peace
  9. "Treasury Sanctions Iranian Persons Involved in Production of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Weapon Shipment to Russia". September 8, 2022.
  10. http://www.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=13930222001585 Archived 2015-10-04 at the Wayback Machine (May 2014) (translation here)
  11. "Farsnews". en.farsnews.com.
  12. "Iranian 'stealth' UAV test site identified - IHS Jane's 360". 8 October 2016. Archived from the original on 8 October 2016.
  13. "Iran's Simorgh Test Site Identified". Offiziere.ch. 8 October 2016. Archived from the original on 21 October 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
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