UAVs are the talk of the day and have become an important asset on so many fronts. Iran has a history of coming up with fake or seemingly joke stuff as far as stealth fighter, missiles and UAVs are concerned. But this time they really are onto something. On 27th September, during a ceremony, the unveiling of a modified version of the ‘Shahed 129’ took place. The unveiled UCAV is capable of carrying weapons. In simple words, a domestic drone (Based on Israeli Hermes 450 or Watchkeeper 450 but bigger in size than those) has ascended to become a real Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV) which is capable of carrying missiles.
Moving on to the data and numbers, according to claims of IRGC AF Commander the drone is capable of carrying 8 bombs/missiles, has an endurance of 24 hours with a range of 1,700 km and a ceiling of 24,000 feet. The drone can monitor an area of 200 km around it with its onboard sensors. Iranian TV has also released footage of the particular drone taking flight and firing missiles and images from IR sensors of Shaded 129(allegedly).
From what has been released, it can be seen that two different versions are being employed; one with a retractable landing gear and the other with a fixed one.
Although one may very well question the accuracy of the sensors and the missiles being fired in the photographs, what is confirmed is the fact that this drone is working and is not a fake, hence, proving to be a fruitful development for Iran as far as UAVs are concerned.
