Iran Continues Hunting Spy Drones

The Iranian Air Defense Units have shot down a spying unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) a while ago, senior military officials announced on Saturday.

“The air defense missile systems intercepted an unidentified drone after tracing it on home-made radar screens some time ago,” the Persian service of the Islamic republic news agency quoted Commander of Kermanshah Air Defense Colonel Farzad Fereidouni on Saturday.

Noting that there are two types of drones; those used for reconnaissance and those used for both combat and reconnaissance purposes, Colonel Fereidouni added, “The drone was of reconnaissance type.”

The commander declined to give further details about the drone, including its country of origin.

Yet, a few hours later, Colonel Fereidouni explained to MNA that the drone had been shot down over Iranian sky last year, adding that the drone had not been downed in his province.

In August 2014, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force shot down an Israeli Hermes drone before it could reach Natanz nuclear enrichment facility, in Central Iran.

The IRGC also pointed out in its statement that the hostile aircraft had been targeted by a surface-to-air missile.

A statement released by the IRGC’s Public Relations Department then said the Israeli pilotless aircraft was a radar-evading, stealth drone with the mission to spy on Iran’s enrichment activities by flying over Natanz nuclear enrichment plant.

It also noted that the IRGC alongside other Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic is fully and resolutely ready to defend the noble Iranian nation and Islamic Iran.

Iran has so far downed several US drones in the last few years. In the most notable case the country announced on December 4, 2011 that its defense forces had downed a US RQ-170 aircraft through a sophisticated cyber attack.

The drone was the first such loss by the US. US officials have described the loss of the aircraft in Iran as a setback and a fatal blow to the stealth drone program.