Commander of the Iranian Air Force Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh said his force plans to utilize smart systems, particularly munitions, along with developing equipment and machinery in its unmanned fleet of drones, Fars News Agency (FNA) reported.
Brigadier General Nasirzadeh said that the air force will strengthen its combat capabilities with employing smart systems at all levels of its organization, particularly in area of munitions and weaponry.
The Commander added that concurrent with upgrading capabilities in manned craft fleet, the air force will develop and expand utilization of the state-of-the-art equipment in its drone fleet.
Late in June, the IRIAF inaugurated a drone college in the Central province of Qom in a ceremony participated by Army Lieutenant Commander Brigadier General Mohammad Hossein Dadras and Brigadier General Nasirzadeh.
The Iranian Air Force is the first section of the Armed Forces which has set up a specialized college for drones.
Iran has recently made giant advancements in aerospace industries, especially in designing and manufacturing pilotless drones.
Iran is one of the five best manufactures of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in the world, a senior Army commander said in April.
“Today, thanks to the blessings of the Islamic Revolution, we enjoy indigenized production lines and technology to use drones. Actually, we have reached the peaks and a high degree in production of the UAVs,” Commander of the Army Ground Force’s Drone Unit General Shahram Hassannejad told FNA.
“Based on official sources, the Islamic Iran is standing among the five advanced world states in production of drones,” he added.
Kaman-12 (photo), the first home-made wide-body drone with a jet engine, was unveiled in late January in an exhibition held by Armed Forces in Tehran.
Also, in March, General Nasirzadeh and Vice-President for Science and Technology Sorena Sattari officially inaugurated the mass-production lines of Kaman-12 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV).
During the ceremony, also the first aeronautical center, equipped with laser technology of Launch Services Program (LSP), was inaugurated in Army Aerospace Force Self Sufficiency Jihad Organization (ASF SSJO).
Iranian experts have omitted hydraulic system in the plane and replaced it with electromechanical operators.
The drone is able to send information obtained by sensors to the automatic pilot system and uses INS/GPS navigation system. The Iranian-made plane also enjoys capabilities to send high-quality images to the earth.
The J33 engine has also been replaced with J85 engine which is more powerful and displayed more proper operational capabilities.
Iran's newly developed drone has a flight durability of 10 hours, 200km speed, operational radius of 1,000km and capability to carry 100kg of cargos.
