“Using smart systems, especially in the domain of ammunitions and also further utilization of UAVs are on the top agenda of Iran’s Air Force,” he said Monday in a local ceremony.
Iran at the time was in critical need of efficient surveillance aircraft in the face of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussien’s largely foreign-backed military aggression, to the extent that the CIA was sharing satellite imagery of Iranian troop movements with Baghdad.
Iran is, however, now one of the world’s top four or five countries, and the top drone power in the region, according to IRGC Aerospace Commander Amir-Ali Hajizadeh.
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, to carrying bombs operations.
They have been playing a significant role in the fight against Takfiri terrorists as well as monitoring US warships in the Persian Gulf.
Known to be able to hack into enemy drones, Iran currently possesses the biggest collection of captured or downed American and Israeli drones, including the US' MQ1, MQ9, Shadow, ScanEagle, and RQ-170 as well as the Israeli regime's Hermes, Hajizadeh had said earlier this year.
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