Iran has boosted its air defense capabilities by adding combat drones equipped with air-to-air missiles to its arsenal, state media said on Sunday. "Dozens of Karrar drones armed with air-to-air missiles have been added for air defense in all border areas of the country," the official IRNA news agency said. The drones, with an operational range of up to 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), were on display Sunday morning during a televised ceremony held at a military academy in Tehran. "Now the enemies will have to rethink their strategies" because Iranian forces "have become more powerful," IRNA quoted Iranian army chief General Abdolrahim Mousavi as saying.
The Karrar interceptor drone, the first version of which was presented in 2010, is equipped with a thermal missile with a range of eight kilometers, "made entirely in Iran", the agency added. It "passed its tests" during military exercises held in October, Mousavi said.
The development of Iran's military arsenal has caused concern among many countries, especially the United States and Israel, which are the sworn enemies of the Islamic Republic. Israel accuses Tehran of providing fleets of drones to its allies in the Middle East, notably the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah and Yemen's Houthi rebels. Iran also supports the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has been at war with Israel since carrying out deadly attacks there on October 7. Tehran has been accused by Kiev and its Western allies of providing Russia with drones for use in the war in Ukraine. Tehran denies this claim. However, Western governments have imposed several rounds of harsh sanctions on Iran over alleged arms sales. Iran began producing drones in the 1980s during its eight-year war with Iraq. /BGNES
