Iran’s Navy recently unveiled a vertical takeoff naval drone with the capability to fly horizontally and land on water, dubbed Pelican-2, in a ceremony where a homegrown Inertial Navigation System (INS) was also put on display, Fars News Agency (FNA) reported.

Iranian Army Commander Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi and Navy Commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi unveiled 2 homegrown Iranian Navy achievements at an exhibition in Tehran last Saturday.

One of the products was a vertical takeoff naval drone, dubbed Pelican-2, which is a sophisticated long-range drone equipped with four motors for vertical movement and a powerful propeller for horizontal movement. The drone can take off from the cruising warships for patrol and reconnaissance missions and this drone can even land and float on water in an emergency.

The Navy has employed Pelican-2 on naval fleets in international waters.

Another product unveiled at the exhibition was a homegrown Inertial Navigation System (INS) used for positioning and navigation of submarines below the surface, where the conventional GPS system is not applicable.

The Iranian system, developed under the Soren project, has been manufactured with a special technology available to only a few countries.

In another development, the Iranian Navy transferred its main headquarters from the capital city of Tehran to the port city of Bandar Abbas, on the shores of the Persian Gulf waters.

Rear Admiral Khanzadi inaugurated the new headquarters in Bandar Abbas last month.

“A significant part of Navy HQ elements will be transferred (to Bandar Abbas) and the naval forces will be led with an increased focus,” he said.

Rear Admiral Khanzadi said that this transfer “will increase the speed of operations and will allow the Navy to have more focus on waters”.