(Franco Iacch)
02/06/16

http://www.difesaonline.it/mondo-militare/siria-prima-missione-di-combattimento-i-droni-iraniani

Iran conducted the first combat mission in Syria with armed drones. The national media have released some movies made by the on-board cameras of the two Shahed-129, flying over enemy positions in Syria. One of the videos, according to the cameras flight data, dates back to last October. The other would be the most recent. The latitude and longitude of the movies correspond to the province of Aleppo, Syria.

The Shahed-129 is a reconnaissance and fighter capable drone capable of flying for 24 hours with a 2000 km radius. Can be armed with air-to-ground multirole missile Sadid-1, which also equips another drone, the Karrar. The "Shahed-129" has entered into mass production last in September of 2013, one year after was presented. Shahed-129 configuration is a compromise between the Israeli "Hermes 450" and English "Watchkeeper WK450".

On November 18, 2013 Iran has unveiled a new drone that would be able to stay aloft for more than thirty hours. The drone, called "Fotros", would be able to carry out reconnaissance and combat missions within a 1,250-mile radius. It would cover much of the Middle East, including Israel. From some time Iran claims to had been able to decode the RQ-170 'Sentinel' technology, CIA drone that - according to the Islamic Republic - was captured in December 2011. The 'Sentinel' was< shot down, but not destroyed, after having entered the Iranian airspace from its eastern border with Afghanistan. The United States has always denied the episode.

Iran is continuing to develop the "Fotros" that seems similar to another new drone that Iran unveiled in September 2012. It is not yet clear whether the "Fotros" is a completely new model or an updated version of "Shahed- 129

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IZAKOVIC