Iran Unveils Long-Range Surveillance Drone

[Purveyor]

--CLIP

On Tuesday, Hajizadeh described the new drone as a key strategic additional to Iran's military capabilities with the ability to carry out reconnaissance missions or be armed with "bombs and missiles."

Hajizadeh, who heads the Guard's aerospace division, said the Shahed-129, or Witness-129, has a range of 2,000 kilometres (1,250 miles). That covers much of the Middle East including Israel and nearly doubles the range of previous drones produced by Iranian technicians, who have often relied on reverse engineering military hardware with the country under Western embargoes.

But it's unclear whether the new drone contains any elements of an unmanned CIA aircraft that went down in eastern Iran in December. Iran said it has recovered data from the RQ-170 Sentinel and claimed it was building its own replica.

Iran frequently makes announcements about its strides in military technology, but it is virtually impossible to independently determine the actual capabilities or combat worthiness of the weapons Iran is producing.

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http://www.windsorstar.com/news/Report+During+drill+strategic+waterway+Iran+testfires+missiles/7294434/story.html

[a geek named Bob]

1. no pics?

rats!