“The biggest advantage we have over drones in the region and the world is that our UAVs are indigenous and completely Iranian, that is, we have used and continue to use a completely indigenous technology in construction, use, and overhaul. We are not dependent on any country in supplying the UAV production chain, and this is our biggest advantage. It is possible for us to replace this cycle and continue it,” Brigadier General Shahram Hassannejad said in an interview with IRNA published on Saturday.

Iranian drones had been designed and manufactured in accordance with the regional conditions in terms of climate and strategic areas of different parts of the country, the commander highlighted.

“Iran has different weather seasons and our ‘birds’ can perform missions in different weather conditions, in the sea, mountains, desert and in different climatic conditions,” the military official explained.

Referred to an increase in the combat capability of the Armed Forces after the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, he said, “What is happening today in the Ground Forces and the Armed Forces is the result of deep thought and a very valuable experience from eight years of sacred defense. Eight years of sacred defense is a sustainable source that we have used and will use many times.”

The sacred defense refers to resistance against the invading Saddam Hussein army against Iran in the 1980s. The war that Saddam launched against Iran in September 1980 lasted until August 1988.

The commander stated achieving high-tech science and capabilities in the field of drones is the result of the experiences that Armed Forces had gained during the eight years of sacred defense, noting that “at that time, we wanted to be able to identify and monitor mountainous areas to stop the enemy.”

Explaining the necessities of using UAVs in today’s wars, the commander said: “The idea of using UAVs was in fact according to the orders of the Supreme Leader of the Revolution. He said in one of his speeches that the navy had drones before the revolution, and advised that the Army should strengthen these drones and do something that is in line with the current situation, so the army entered this field by observing the Leader’s orders.”

Stating that the army ground forces have seriously entered the field of UAVs over the past 12 years, the general said that in the early years, the needs and requirements for reconnaissance and surveillance in drills, actions near borders, and the domestic areas created a new mindset in the armed forces.

At that time, he said, drones were only for reconnaissance and surveillance.

The ground forces have left the defense strategy behind

He said the Army Ground Forces succeeded to master the technology to produce drones despite sanctions, adding that drones are the result of creativity by the youth in the army and other organizations

“Sanctions and maximum pressure did not prevent the designers, and today we have very good conditions in the field of UAVs, so we passed production of the reconnaissance and surveillance UAVs.”

General Hassannejad highlighted that today the strategy of the ground forces has departed from a purely defensive force and it now has an “offensive view”.

With that in mind, he said, simply having UAVs for reconnaissance could not meet the ground forces’ needs.

“In the last five years, we have gone through reconnaissance and surveillance UAVs, which of course we have a deep look at, to multi-role combat, and suicide drones, and more recently to basic electronic warfare drones so that we can conduct electronic warfare in managing the operational scene.”

The general also commented on training of UAV pilots.

“As the name of these UAVs indicates, the UAV is a remotely piloted aircraft and the pilots are present at the flight control stations and the UAV has its mission miles away from the pilot’s base.”

Hassannejad stated that the training of UAV pilots was centralized based on the needs of the forces.

The forces, after passing the officer training course, spend the course of piloting and controlling special UAV in that relevant unit, he explained.

Fortunately, in recent years, very good measures have been taken both in the field of training UAV pilots and in the field of training technical personnel.

Referring to the progress in Iranian products in recent years, the military official stressed that most of the drones were produced by the defense industry and these products were used in operational units such as the Hazrat Vali-e-Asr Ajalullah UAV group.

Round-the-clock readiness to carry out missions 

Elsewhere in his remarks, General Hassannejad said the durability of flights and operational range of Iranian drones were such that UAV Group of the Army Ground Forces can carry out reconnaissance, surveillance, and even combat missions round-the-clock, wherever it is intended and communicated to it.

The commander also reiterated reality was that the wars are not like the past or in a classical form.

Wars and conflicts have shifted to impact-oriented wars and the use of enemy operational depth, he said, adding with this view, wars have also changed in terms of content and form.

“The use of drones supports part of the idea that we should look for new equipment to be more effective on the enemy.”

Hassannejad stated: “Today, we can penetrate the enemy’s operational depth with drones and take direct actions that will have a great impact on the enemy forces. In addition, pre-determined and sensitive areas can be hit using drones.”

We are ready to use all kinds of drones

Referring to the changes in the form and content of wars and the use of electronic tools, the general said: “UAVs have the ability to make extensive use of electronic warfare technology and prepare the ground for operations and combat operations of the ground, naval and air forces.”

“We consider ourselves the defenders of this nation and people and we are at the forefront of defending this country. Wherever it is felt that the ground forces can demonstrate their capabilities to protect the borders of the Islamic Republic of Iran, it is there, and it has proved this spirit and readiness in eight years of sacred defense.”

U.S. commander confesses to Iran’s drone capability

Regarding the UAV capability of the Armed Forces, especially the Army Ground Forces in the region and the world, the commander added: “The commander of the American forces in the region has said that the air superiority in the region is not in our hands due to the large presence of drones of the Iranian armed forces. I think these remarks show the power of Iranian drone in the region.”

“We are in a good position in the national and regional arenas,” said the general, stating that all armed forces make extensive use of drones, and support from the defense industry, and the armed forces were moving to conduct small and large operations using drones, even in their small units.

The commander of the UAV group of the Army Ground Forces stated that the performance of manned UAVs had also increased tremendously in recent years

The post Indigenousness is biggest advantage of Iranian drones appeared first on Iran News Daily.

For years Saudi Arabia-led coalition, backed by the U.S., has launched a war against Yemen to impose its own policy or placing its own elements in power in Yemen but Yemenis led by Houthi fighters have shown a great resistance against this vicious will of Saudis or their elements inside Yemen.

Now Yemenis’ resistance has paid and Saudis want talks and ceasefire and it shows how Houthis and brave Yemenis have been able to make the enemies retreat. Recent precise drone and missile attacks of Yemenis against Saudis have worsened the condition for the Riyadh-led forces and they seek an end to this condition.

This week Yemen’s air force carried out another precision retaliatory attack using a kamikaze drone, against the King Khaled Airbase in Saudi Arabia’s southwest.

Yemeni Armed Forces’ Spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree reported the operation against the airbase in the kingdom’s Asir region in early Sunday.

The operation, he said, used one of the air force’s Qasef-K2 UAVs.

Saree called the reprisal, Yemen’s legitimate response to a simultaneous war and siege by a Saudi-led military coalition.

The coalition has been trying unsuccessfully to restore power to Yemen’s former Saudi-allied officials.

Tens of thousands of Yemenis have died as a result of the warfare and the concomitant blockade.

The Yemeni forces that comprise the country’s army and Popular Committees have, however, never laid down their arms in their purpose to rid the country of the aggressors’ presence.

They have stepped up their counteroffensives against sensitive Saudi locations, including the airbase that they target almost every week.

The coalition, however, uses the attacks’ immediate aftermaths to allege that the kingdom has intercepted the incoming projectiles and UAVs.

It rehashed the denial in case of the Sunday attack, with coalition spokesman saying, “We take the necessary measures to protect ourselves in line with the international laws.”

The Yemeni forces have been mindful of the rules of engagement during their retaliatory strikes by refusing to take aim at civilian targets.

Yemenis are suffering the poverty and hunger but they are not ready to stop fighting against aggressors and ceasefire will have meaning when it is a real ceasefire and not a pretext for prolonging the talks and deteriorating the economic condition for Yemeni people.

Due to this resistance, it was reported that as many as 11 Yemeni prisoners belonging to the country’s army and Popular Committees had been released on Saturday during prisoner swap process.

Abdul Qader al Murtaza, chairman of the Yemeni National Salvation Government’s Committee for Prisoner Affairs, announced the development in a tweet.

The Yemenis were freed during two prisoner exchange procedures that went underway in the country’s western coast and the northwestern al-Jawf Province.

Such prisoner swap processes have been underway for some time between the Sana’a government and Yemen’s former Riyadh-friendly officials.

The war will have no positive achievement for Saudis, and, of course, for Yemeni people but ultimately, this is Yemenis who will be the winner of this uneven war because of their belief in independence and resistance against aggressions.

The drone and missile technology has given Yemenis an upper hand against Saudis’ atrocity and now everything is changing in favor of them and the Saudi-led coalition has to put their guns down against the Yemenis’ will of resistance and let Yemeni people decide their own fate without the interference of their so-called West-oriented friends.

Peace and independence are two important demands of Yemenis which should be respected by all  parties which are involved in the war and imposition of economic hardship on Yemenis.

The post Yemen Needs Peace and Independence appeared first on Iran News Daily.