Iranian UAVs | News and Discussions

[Philosopher]

Bomb dropping hexacopter drone:

 

[WudangMaster]

there are other not known versions of karrar and the fact tat we saw a small radar in production line, it suggest that there is indeed a version with radar on it.

View attachment 704761

Shouldn't be a surprise when you consider the size of the drone relative to a shalamcheh missile and that missile does have a locally made planar radar array going back to around the same time as the first karrars.

 

[Raghfarm007]

Very interesting footage and informtion in this video:

 

[Shawnee]

در حین نامگذاری پهپاد ارش دقت کردند به تیراندازی تاریخی و برد بلند ارش
شاید بار اول باشه در کنار سیاوش و کمان که اسم ایرانی استفاده کردند

پهپاد پلیکان اولین نمونه استفاده از اسم غربیه

دوران حازم و حرز و فلاق به سر اومد​

 

[Sineva]

I found a very interesting video showing what is quite probably the very earliest flight testing of the kaman 12 when it was still fitted with its original twin rotor power plant.

https://imgur.com/2NtCwoc

I was quite surprised to see this as I had assumed that it only ever flew with the rotax engine.

 

[yavar]

 

[Saleh99]

clear image of iranian spike “Almaz”

 

[Myself]

View attachment 705203
clear image of iranian spike “Almaz”

Unlike the huge propaganda about such Israeli products, it is clearly based on US Tow platform with some modifications in search and targeting capabilities. So, it didn’t seem to be a heck of burden for Iranian engineers to reverse engineer it.

 

[Saleh99]

Unlike the huge propaganda about such Israeli products, it is clearly based on US Tow platform with some modifications in search and targeting capabilities. So, it didn’t seem to be a heck of burden for Iranian engineers to reverse engineer it.

You mean israel propaganda or iranian propaganda?
Because the Almaz missile is literally the same as the spike missile shown in the pic below....

 

[Philosopher]

Swarm UAV launcher:

More pics from the UAV glide bomb:

 

[Saleh99]

View attachment 705203
clear image of iranian spike “Almaz”

The guidance looks TV not IR? If anyone can help

 

[Shawnee]

The guidance looks TV not IR? If anyone can help

I see two sensors and the glass filter is very transparent. It means both IR and optical to me.

In practice the effect of optical camera is limited. The glass cover will fog in the cold temperature of 1-10 km altitude. That is why some completely make it IR homing with semitransparent optical filters.

 

[jauk]

Bagheri looks tired. Something is going on.

 

[OldTwilight]

View attachment 705203
clear image of iranian spike “Almaz”

Almass , its 'ss' not 'z'

 

[Surenas]

Why Iran Is Arming Its Drones With Air-To-Air Missiles


Last week Iran carried out extensive drone warfare exercises, with several hundred unmanned aircraft flying reconnaissance missions against fixed and mobile targets over land and sea, and mock attacks with machine guns, bombs and guided missiles as well as kamikaze strikes. One of the firsts for Iran was the launch of an air-to-air missile by a drone. This doesn’t mean that Iran will be unleashing a mass of Top Gun dogfighting drones on U.S. forces anytime soon, but it does hint at a significant new capability.

[...]

So why fit an old-fashioned, remote-controlled aircraft, basically a flying target with a bomb slung underneath, with an air-to-air missile? There are a couple of tactical applications that make sense.

The Karrar is sometimes described as an interceptor, and can be used kamikaze-style to ram incoming aircraft. Mounting a surface-to-air missile would give it two shots rather than one, and would also allow it to be used repeatedly rather than as a one-off. This might be a useful capability against simple, non-evading targets such as cruise missiles. The speed of launch could put interceptors in the air more rapidly than manned aircraft. Exactly how successful the Karrar/ Azarakhsh would be in this role is open to question, but their presence could make things more complicated for any proposed attack.

Another possible target would be enemy drones, because the pilots lack 'situational awareness' — with no cockpit to see out of, they can often be approached and shot down without seeing their attacker. This would give Iran a long-range and relatively deniable way of tackling Reapers like the one that killed Qassem Soleimani.

The missiles could also give defensive capability. This is similar to what the U.S. Air Force did in the early 2000s, fitting Stinger air-to-air missiles to its MQ-1 Predator drones so that they would not be easy prey for Iraqi jets while carrying out reconnaissance missions. The idea was that they might at least scare off the Iraqis if not shoot them down. On the only occasion one exchanged missiles with a MiG-25 2002, the Predator was blown out of the sky. The idea has since been revived though, and an MQ-9 Reaper successfully took out a target with an air-to-air missile (assumed to be a Sidewinder) in a 2018 test.

Waves of Karrars may attack targets like air bases or aircraft carriers. Most are likely to be carrying bombs or surface-to-air-missiles, and will be intercepted by fighters long before they reach their goal and a one-sided fight will ensue. Equipping some drones with air-to-air missiles changes the encounter from a turkey shoot to something more like Russian Roulette for the fighters, with the risk that getting too close could mean getting shot down. Again, that changes the calculus of the action. A dozen drones for one F-18 Hornet, for example, would be an excellent exchange rate for the Iranians.

The Iran announcement is nothing technically impressive, but shows a creative approach to bolting together well-established technologies. Remote-controlled dogfighting drones derived from old aerial targets are a distinct possibility – the U.S. Navy developed them 50 years ago, but the idea may have been a bit too scary for advocates of manned aircraft. And while true ‘Loyal Wingman’ robot fighters may be a few years away, the Iranian exercise shows we should prepare now for drones that shoot back.

Why Iran Is Arming Its Drones With Air-To-Air Missiles

Iran appears to have equipped an old-fashioned, remote-controlled target drone with an air-to-air missile. The technology is far from groundbreaking, but it could give Iran interesting new tactical options for both offence and defence.

www.forbes.com