Iran’s Air Defense Forces Detect, Shoo Away Several Enemy Drones
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Air Defense units have successfully grounded and shooed away several enemy drones, a senior Iranian air defense commander announced on Monday, adding that his forces are fully prepared to confront threats posed by all types enemy drones.
“Recently, the air defense base has been able to ground and shoo away several enemy Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs),” Lieutenant Commander of Khatam al-Anbia Air Defense Base for Executive Affairs General Shahrokh Shahram told Tasnim on Monday.
“Therefore” he noted “the air defense units have accomplished their mission in confronting (enemy) drones.”
The commander further stated that the base is in possession of several types of drones and has used them in several wargames in a bid to test and boost air defense units’ preparedness to confront aerial attacks by potential enemy drones.
“Therefore, the air defense forces are fully prepared to repel aerial threats posed by drones in different flight altitude, speed and power,” he underscored.
Shahram also stressed Iran’s air defense systems’ preparedness for safeguarding the country’s “vital areas”, particularly the country’s peaceful nuclear facilities.
“We have attained the capability to counter any threat with regard to the world’s contemporary weapons,” the Iranian commander pointed out.
In December 2011, the Iranian military brought down a US RQ-170 Sentinel stealth aircraft.
The US RQ-170 Sentinel stealth aircraft was grounded with minimal damage by the Iranian Army's electronic warfare unit. The drone was one of America's most advanced spy aircraft.
In a separate development in November 2012, Iran shooed away a US drone that had entered the country’s airspace above the territorial waters of the Islamic Republic in the Persian Gulf.
Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh, the commander of the aerospace forces of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), said that the drone had been driven away by Iranian forces as it attempted to gather intelligence around Kharg Island in southern Iran.
Also on August 17, Commander of Khatam al-Anbia Air Defense Base Brigadier General Farzad Esmaeili announced that Iran’s latest achievements in the air defense field will be unveiled in the near future.
Addressing in a ceremony in Iran's northeastern city of Mashhad, Brigadier General Esmaeili said the base will unveil its “new radars and smart systems” on September 1.
He also noted that the country’s air defense will carry out fresh military wargames in October.