Reuters is reporting that the combat drone, called the Saegheh, or lightning, was the center of attention at an Expo showcasing the achievements of the Revolutionary Guards’ aerospace arm.
“This long-range drone is capable of hitting four targets with smart precision-guided bombs with high accuracy,” the head of the Revolutionary Guards’ aerospace arm, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA on Saturday.
The Secretary of Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, speaking on the sidelines at the Expo told IRNA that drones are a significant part of Iran’s “deterrent power, along with missiles.” He added that the country’s “defensive and offensive power is complicated, multidimensional” and based on Iran’s domestic capability and religious teachings.
The one thing that did not happen was a demonstration of the combat drone’s capabilities and its range was not discussed. But based on a picture published by the Tasnim News Agency, the Revolutionary Guard’s drone looks very similar to the U.S. RQ-170 Sentinel aircraft captured in eastern Iran in 2011.
In all fairness, the Iranian media is saying the drone showcased at the Expo is based on the U.S. drone. When U.S. forces in Afghanistan lost the drone in 2011, President Obama asked that Iran give it back, but Tehran told Obama that Washington should apologize for spying on Iran with unmanned aircraft, writes Channel News Asia.
