Iran Army Chief: Intruding Drone Brought Down by Homegrown System
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A foreign drone that violated the Iranian airspace on Friday was shot down by a homegrown air defense missile system, Army Commander Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi said.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Major General Mousavi said the intruding aircraft that the Army Air Defense brought down on Friday was shot with the “Mersad” homegrown air defense missile system.
The wreckage of the intruding aircraft downed in the southwestern port city of Mahshahr has not been fully recovered yet, the general added.
He also noted that since the wreckage has not been retrieved, the Army cannot determine the unmanned aerial vehicle’s site of departure and mission objectives for certain.
“What has become certain for now is that the (intruding) drone was flying at a low altitude and was targeted by the Mersad indigenous system,” the top commander noted.
He also highlighted the distinguishing features of Mersad, saying it can detect and hit very small targets.
In June, Iran shot down an advanced US spy drone, which the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said was flying over southern parts of the country.
The IRGC said that the US spy drone had violated the Iranian territorial airspace in the early hours of June 20 and was immediately shot down by the IRGC Aerospace Force’s air defense unit near the Kooh-e-Mobarak region in the southern province of Hormozgan.
The intruding drone was reportedly shot by Iran’s homegrown air defense missile system “Khordad-3rd”.