News / Defense

Homegrown Karrar drone warned US aircraft off Iranian airspace: General

Sunday, 03 September 2023 11:30 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 03 September 2023 11:34 AM ]

In this file picture, a domestically developed Karrar jet-powered target drone is launched during a military exercise in Iran. (By Tasnim news agency)

The deputy commander of Iran’s Air Defense Force says the homegrown Karrar target drone has on several occasions warned American spy aircraft and other foreign jets to stay away from Iranian airspace.

Brigadier General Alireza Elhami said on Sunday the jet-powered drone has several times forced foreign manned and unmanned aircraft to change their course over the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Sea of Oman at high altitudes.

"Karrar has warned the US military’s Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft as well as Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk remotely-piloted surveillance aircraft and made them keep their distance from the Iranian airspace by flying at very high altitudes above the intruders," he said.

The commander said a number of foreign military aircraft wanted to test Iran’s air defense capabilities by changing their cruising altitude, not knowing that Karrar, which relies on a fully homegrown engine, can fly over them.

Elhami also noted that Karrar has been furnished with a sophisticated radar system.

Karrar, developed by Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company (HESA), is among the new generation of the Islamic Republic military aerial vehicles configured to intercept enemies’ flying objects.

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Elsewhere in his remarks, Elhami underscored that Iranian experts at his unit have developed data acquisition and electronic warfare systems, alongside optical and combat field reconnaissance gear, that are installed on indigenous drones with various flight endurance and applications.

He stated that Iran’s Air Defense Force is the first military unit among the Iranian Armed Forces to have set a service ceiling record by flying a drone at an altitude of 47,000 feet above ground level.

Prior to this achievement, he said, Iranian drones have given either radar or radio warnings to the foreign aircraft that have been approaching Iran’s coastal waters or its flight information region (FIR).

Iranian military experts and engineers have in recent years made remarkable breakthroughs in manufacturing a broad range of indigenous equipment, making the armed forces self-sufficient.

Iranian officials have repeatedly underscored that the country will not hesitate to strengthen its military capabilities, including its missile power, which are entirely meant for defense, and that Iran’s defense capabilities will be never subject to negotiations.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has repeatedly called for efforts to maintain and boost Iran’s defense capabilities.

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