Unmanned aerial vehicles in the Iranian military

In the mid-1980s, Iran became interested in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Iranians have since began manufacturing (UAVs). As an attack munition rather than intelligence, surveillance, or reconnaissance (ISR) platform, the first generation Ababil appears to have been deployed during the Iran–Iraq War.[1]

History

Iran first began using UAVs in 1985, with the Ababil-1 and Mohajer-1, which spied on Iraqi positions behind front-line trenches. In 1988, following Operation Praying Mantis where the US Navy inflicted heavy loses on Iran’s air and navy forces,[2] Iranian strategists realized they could not openly face the US by water. It was then that Iran started investing heavily in drones. The Iranian government has since been open about its interest in UAVs.[3] The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force is the primary operator of Iran’s growing fleet of UAVs, although most Iranian military services employ them.[4]

Major General Bagheri in September 2016 announced the development of new long-range attack drones with the capability of precision bombing which was being shared with Russia.[5]

Drones became a technology that Iranian engineers could develop locally as external markets closed due to sanctions or high prices.[6]

On 29 July 2021 US sanctions were targeted at Iran's weapons program. While the US has previously sanctioned Iran's missile programs, the new penalties will target groups that supply parts for drones and missiles to Iran.[7][8][9]

Also on 29 July 2021, a delta-wing drone, similar to unmanned "kamikaze" drones developed for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, flew into the pilothouse of the Merchant tanker Mercer Street in an incident known to Wikipedia's as the July 2021 Gulf of Oman incident. It was reported that two crewmembers (a Romanian and UK national assigned to security) were killed.[10] Later tests indicated that the UAV had been rigged to cause injury using a Nitrate-based explosive, RDX.[11][12]

In October 2021 Iran unveiled its new Kaman 22 (UAV), which seems to be modeled on the U.S.-made MQ-1 Predator and with other features from the more advanced MQ-9 Reaper. The aircraft is also reminiscent of the Chinese CH-5 drone.[13]

Issues with Iranian drones include a lack of access to modern components and parts, especially engines, lack of self-defense features for drones, problems with technical reliability, and poor weather.[14]


List of Iranian military UAVs
See also: List of unmanned aerial vehicles § Iran

This list is largely courtesy of globalsecurity.org.[15] Iran has several organizations that manufacture drones, amongst which are: Qods Aviation Industry Company, IAMCO and Shahed Aviation Industries.

References
  1. "Iran's Drone Fleet". U.S. Institute of Peace. July 2021. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
  2. Lee Allen Zatarain, Tanker War: America’s First Conflict with Iran, 1987–88 (Havertown, PA: Casemate Publishers, 2009), 205–40.
  3. Pear, Robert (July 21, 1988). "Khomeini Accepts 'Poison' of Ending the War with Iraq". The New York Times.
  4. Iran Military Power (PDF). Defense Intelligence Agency. 2019. p. 67. ISBN 978-0-16-095157-2. This article incorporates public-domain text from this source.
  5. Staff. (25 September 2016). "Russians after Iranian long-range drone tech.". Mehr News Agency website Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  6. Rubin, M (August 2020). "A Short History of the Iranian Drone Program" (PDF). American Enterprise Institute. p. 4.
  7. London, Ian Talley in Washington and Benoit Faucon in (2021-07-29). "WSJ News Exclusive | U.S. Plans Sanctions Against Iran's Drones and Guided Missiles". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
  8. Castronuovo, Celine (2021-07-29). "US planning to target Iran drone, guided missile programs with sanctions: report". The Hill. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
  9. "Sanctions Won't Hurt Iran's UAV Program". Defense One. 5 August 2021. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
  10. "DocumentCloud". www.documentcloud.org. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  11. "U.S. Says New Iranian 'Kamikaze' Drone Killed Two in Merchant Ship Attack; U.K., U.S. Condemn Tehran for Attack". USNI News. 2021-08-06. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  12. "Oil tanker attack: Boris Johnson says Iran must 'face up to the consequences' of its actions after drone attack on MV Mercer Street". Sky News. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  13. Newdick, Thomas (24 February 2021). "Iran's Latest Indigenous Drone Is A Predator Lookalike". The Drive. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  14. Report A Short History of the Iranian Drone Program By Michael Rubin American Enterprise Institute August 26, 2020 https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/a-short-history-of-the-iranian-drone-program/
  15. "Iran - Unmanned Air Vehicles UAV - Summary". globalsecurity.org.
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