Watch Iran unveils 1st unmanned bomber

Iran unveils 1st unmanned bomber


Aug. 22: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday inaugurated the country’s first domestically built unmanned bomber aircraft, calling it an “ambassador of death” to Iran’s enemies.
The 4-metre-long drone aircraft can carry up to four cruise missiles and will have a range of 620 miles, according to a state TV report — not far enough to reach archenemy Israel.
“The jet, as well as being an ambassador of death for the enemies of humanity, has a main message of peace and friendship,” said Mr Ahmadinejad at the inauguration ceremony, which fell on the country’s national day for its defence industries. The goal of the aircraft, named Karrar or striker, is to “keep the enemy paralysed in its bases,” he said, adding that the aircraft is for deterrence and defensive purposes.
The President championed the country’s military self-sufficiency programme, and said it will continue “until the enemies of humanity lose hope of ever attacking the Iranian nation.” Iran launched an arms development programme during its 1980-88 war with Iraq to compensate for a US weapons embargo and now produces its own tanks, armoured personnel carries, missiles and even a fighter plane.
Iran frequently makes announcements about new advances in military technology that cannot be independently verified. State TV later showed video footage of the plane taking off from a launching pad and reported that the craft travelled at speeds of 560 miles per hour and could alternatively be armed with two 250-pound bombs or a 450-pound guided bomb.
Iran has been producing its own light, unmanned surveillance aircraft since the late 1980s. The ceremony came a day after Iran began to fuel its first nuclear power reactor amid international concerns over the possibility of a military dimension to its nuclear programme.
Iran insists it is only interested in generating electricity. Referring to Israel’s occasional threats against Iran’s nuclear facilities, Mr Ahmadinejad called any attack unlikely, but he said if Israel did, the reaction would be overwhelming.
“The scope of Iran’s reaction will include the entire the earth,” said Mr Ahmadinejad. “We also tell you — the West — that all options are on the table.”
Mr Ahmadinejad appeared to be consciously echoing the terminology used by the US and Israel in their statements not ruling out a military option against Iran’s nuclear facilities.
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Watch Iran unveils long-range bombing drone

Iran unveils long-range bombing drone

An Iranian Defense Ministry photo shows President Ahmadinejad and the long-range drone dubbed "Karrar" on August 22, 2010.
(CNN) -- Iran unveiled the first long-range military drone manufactured in the country on Sunday, state media reported.
The unmanned aerial vehicle is capable of carrying out bombing missions against ground targets and flying long distances at a high speed, Press TV said.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attended the unveiling of the drone, dubbed the "Karrar," in a ceremony marking Iran's Defense Industry Day.
In February, Iran inaugurated the production line for two types of drones with bombing and reconnaissance capabilities, the semiofficial Fars news agency reported.
Video: Iran nuclear plant fueling
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Iran
Drone Attacks
Iran has manufactured its own tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles and fighter planes since 1992, according to Press TV.
The country successfully tested a radar-evading drone with bombing capabilities in June 2009, Press TV said.
In March 2009, U.S. military officials said U.S. fighter jets in Iraq shot down an unmanned Iranian spy drone aircraft.
At the time, most major state-run media outlets in Iran did not carry news of any incident involving an Iranian drone and Iraq's national security adviser declined to comment.
Unmanned vehicles have become a staple of modern combat.
U.S. military officials have said remotely-controlled drones minimize risk and allow troops to spy on and attack enemy combatants.
Ahead of the drone's unveiling, Iran's defense minister said the country's military planned to reveal a project of "great importance" on Sunday, according to state-run Press TV.
"Iran's defense capability has reached a point which does not need any aid from other countries," Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi said, according to the semiofficial Iranian Students News Agency.
It is not clear whether the unveiling of the long-range drone was the announcement he was referring to.
Vahidi's announcement Saturday came as Iran began fueling its first nuclear energy plant in the southern city of Bushehr, the nation's state media reported.
Press TV said the effort will help the country create nuclear-generated electricity.
But some Western nations have questioned whether the nuclear fuel will be used solely for electricity, suggesting that Iran would eventually try to enrich uranium on its own, providing material for nuclear weapons.
The United States has questioned Iran's motives in continuing to enrich uranium within its borders.
"Russia is providing the fuel, and taking the fuel back out," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said earlier this month.
"It, quite clearly, I think, underscores that Iran does not need its own enrichment capability if its intentions, as it states, are for a peaceful nuclear program," he said.
Iran has maintained all along that the site will produce energy, but the United States and some other international observers remain unconvinced.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, speaking to Russian reporters in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Wednesday, brushed off Western concerns about the Bushehr facility, calling it "the most important anchor holding Iran to the nonproliferation regime," according to the Russian news agency RIA-Novosti.
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