Iran unveils long-range, radar-evading drone

Iran has unveiled a new light-weight, long-range stealth unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of flying at a maximum altitude of 10, 000 feet.

The drone was put on show on Wednesday at an expo showcasing the latest achievements by the Iranian Aviation & Space Industries Association.

Hamed Sa’eedi, an official with the association, said that, with a total weight of less than 20 kilograms and a flight time of over 15 hours, the drone can conduct such non-military missions as those for mapping, filming and image-collecting.

He said that Iran plans to export the drone to different countries.

Earlier this month, Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) unveiled a new attack drone, the Saegheh (Thunderbolt), by reverse-engineering a US Central Intelligence Agency RQ-170 Sentinel drone that had been captured in December 2011.

In recent years, Iran has made major breakthroughs in its defense sector and attained self-sufficiency in producing important military equipment and systems.

The Islamic Republic maintains that its military might poses no threat to other countries, stating that its defense doctrine is merely based on deterrence.