Iran unveils ‘Epic’ new drone

Published time: May 10, 2013 00:51

Much has been said already of the vast US military drone program, but Iran has just unveiled the latest of its own autonomous aircraft in a bid to highlight recent advances in the drive to build its own drone fleet.

Designated as the Hemaseh in Farsi, meaning 'epic' in English, Iran’s latest reconnaissance-combat drone was unveiled on Thursday during a ceremony attended by Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi.

Brightly painted in the colors of Iran’s national flag and sporting what looked to be two dummy missiles under its wings, the domestically built drone is said to possess stealth capabilities that would allow it to evade enemy radar.

“This drone has been built by defense industry experts and is simultaneously capable of surveillance, reconnaissance and missile and rocket attacks,” Vahidi said during the unveiling.

“This aircraft with its stealth quality can avoid detection by the enemy,” he added.

In an earlier report produced by Iran’s official Fars News Agency (FNA) the country claims to be building “tens of different types” of unmanned aerial vehicles, and touts this latest model as the country’s most advanced. According to the FNA, 30 of a total of 40 types of drone models are already in the production phase.

On February 2, Iran also unveiled to much fanfare another domestically produced aircraft, that time a manned “stealth” jet named Qaher 313, at a ceremony presided over by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Analysts within the US were generally suspicious of the unusual-looking aircraft, suspecting that it was a mock-up model rather than a flight-worthy prototype.

FULL STORY: http://rt.com/news/iran-unveils-epic-drone-076/