A senior Military Commander said Iran's air defense units have been equipped with advanced radars capable of detecting unmanned drones.

General Farzad Esmaeili said Iran was unable to detect small drones in the past but can now trace and shoot them down over its airspace.

He made the comment in an interview with the official IRNA news agency this past week.

Esmaeili is Commander of the Khatam-ol-Anbia Air Defense Headquarters.

Iran has a locally made radar system with a range of some 1,800 miles (2,900 kilometers).

In January, Iran claimed to have shot down 2 US pilotless spy planes that had violated its airspace, though the US military said it had no record of that.

Iran restructured its military in 2009 in an effort to improve its air defenses.

 

Source: Khaleej Times; IRNA