TEHRAN – On Thursday, the Iranian Air Force (IAF) officially unveiled the production line of Kaman-12, a domestically-manufactured unmanned combat aerial vehicle.

The unveiling ceremony was attended by Vice-President for Science and Technology Sorena Sattari and Air Force Commander Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh in Tehran.

The aircraft can fly at the top speed of 200 kilometers per hour for 10 straight hours.

It can use an airstrip as short as 400 meters and covers a 1,000-kilometer combat radius.

The UAV weighs 450 kilograms and can carry a payload as heavy as 100 kilograms.

The combat drone was first unveiled on January 30 during the Eqtedar 40 Exhibition at the Imam Khomeini Grand Prayer Grounds in Tehran, ahead of the 40th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

IRGC Aerospace Commander Amir-Ali Hajizadeh had previously described Iran as one of the world’s top four or five countries in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles and the top drone power in the region.

Iran's UAV program has expanded in recent years with more than a dozen models operating for a variety of functions ranging from surveillance to intelligence gathering, carrying bombs and Kamikaze operations.

They have been playing a significant role in the fight against Takfiri terrorists as well as monitoring U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf. 

Iran currently possesses the biggest collection of captured or downed American and Israeli drones, including the American MQ1, MQ9, Shadow, ScanEagle, and RQ-170 as well as the Israeli regime’s Hermes, the IRGC aerospace unit chief said recently.

Separately on Friday, the Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense Base unveiled a new radar system called Nasser-40 and a navigation system called Moein-40.

Designed and manufactured in cooperation with department of the vice-Presidency for Science and Technology, Nasser-40 radar is a passive radar system which can detect various targets, including micro air vehicles (MAVs) and cruise missiles in urban environments.

Nasser-40 is a stealth radar, and thus cannot be spotted by the enemy’s aerial vehicles, according to the Fars news agency.

The Moein-40 navigation system has also been built according to the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and is highly capable of accurately finding the targets and their altitude, and exchange data with other Iranian radars.

With a range of over 400 kilometers, the navigation system can be used both for commercial and military purposes.

Only eight developed countries in the world have the technical know-how to manufacture such a navigation system.

Also over the last few days, Iran operationalized the production line for Akhgar missile, another achievement of the defense industries which can be mounted on Iranian drones. It can hit targets from a distance of 30 kilometers.

SP/PA