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1st LD: Iran unveils homemade Saeqeh combat drone

Xinhua, October 1, 2016 Adjust font size:

Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on Saturday unveiled a new homemade combat drone called Saeqeh, Press TV reported.

According to the report, Saeqeh is a long-range drone capable of carrying four smart guided bombs to target posts with high precision.

Saeqeh is the Iranian version of the U.S. RQ-170 Sentinel stealth aircraft.

Iran captured a U.S. RQ-170 drone in 2011 and reverse-engineered it in 2013. It was announced here in 2014 that IRGC produced a duplicate of the drone.

On Saturday, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, said that the reverse-engineering of the U.S. RQ-170 drone in 2013 showed that Iran is able to turn the U.S. "threats" in the region into "an opportunity to increase power" of the Islamic republic.

Shamkhani said possession of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) forms a significant deterrent power of Iran, according to official IRNA news agency.

"Our experience over the past years, related to Iran-Iraq war (in 1980s) and the oppressive western sanctions, has taught us that sustainable security would be impossible without indigenous defensive infrastructure and constant development," Shamkhani was quoted as saying.

"It also shows that it would be impossible to live in peace without acquiring deterrent power," he said, noting that "our defensive and combat power is complex, multi-dimensional and is based on our domestic potentials and religious teachings."

Iran's military power will not be used against other countries or for expansionist purposes, he added.

In recent years, Iran has made great achievements in aerospace sector, including drone designing and manufacturing.

In a number of occasions, the Iranian military units have showcased kinds of civilian, graphic, reconnaissance and combat drones. Endit