Iran in the making of new assault UAVs: defense minister
TEHRAN – Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said on Saturday that Iran is in the process of manufacturing new assault unmanned aerial vehicles.
Vahidi made the remarks less than two weeks after Iran announced that its armed forces had downed a U.S. spy drone, named the RQ-170 Sentinel, which had penetrated 250 kilometers into Iran’s airspace.
The defense minister also pointed to the enemies’ cyber warfare campaign against the country and said that the Islamic Republic has always emerged victorious in this area and managed to repel cyber attacks on Iranian industrial computer systems.
He added that Iran showed its capabilities in the area of cyber warfare when Iranian armed forces managed to take control of the U.S. spy drone and brought it down with minor damage.
Commenting on U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s interview with Fox News on December 14, in which he had said that the stealth drone campaign over Iran will continue, he said that Iran does not expect those people, who have hegemonistic and aggressive nature, to readily give up and abandon their plans.
The fact that they officially announce such decisions signifies their profound weakness, because such moves are regarded as clear acts of aggression, he added.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Vahidi pointed to Iran’s prowess in the area of electronic warfare and said that the Defense Ministry has made great achievements in designing and manufacturing the equipment needed for engaging in modern warfare.
