Russia to import drone technology from Iran

Russia wants to import the technology of one of the Iranian-made drones, Manouchehr Manteghi, secretary of Iran ’s Technology Development and Knowledge-based Aviation and Aeronautical Industries Headquarters said.

Manteghi, who is visiting Moscow, said that the two parties are negotiating on the issue Iran ’s Fars news agency reported August 26.

The Iranian official refused to unveil more details on the issue.

Iran earlier gave Russia a copy of ScanEagle- a US spy drone as proof that its elite forces have reverse-engineered and mass produced the American unmanned aerial vehicle.

Tehran has gained a lot of experience in making drones after the country first used the aircraft for military use.

The Islamic Republic has so far unveiled various domestically produced drones, including Ababil, Fotros, Hazem, Karrar (long range attack drone), Mohajer, Sarir, Shahed 129, Yasir and Zohal.
The country unveiled its first domestically manufactured long-range UAV named Karrar in 2010. The first Iranian medium-altitude long-endurance UAV, the Shahed-129 was unveiled in September 2012, which is capable of carrying out combat and reconnaissance eight missions for 24 hours and has a range of 1,700 km.

Iran also unveiled its largest yet homemade UAV, titled 'Fotros' in 2013. Fotros has a range of some 2,000 kilometers and is capable of launching air-to-surface missile strikes. The drone can fly at an altitude of 25,000 feet, with a flight time of 16 to 30 hours.

/By Trend/