Article Posted on : - Nov 19, 2013

The newly-unveiled drone Fotros. A media image

TEHRAN (AFP): Iran has unveiled a missile-equipped drone with a range of 2,000 kilometres, official media has reported.

"The Fotros drone has an operational range of 2,000 kilometres and can fly at an altitude of 25,000 feet, with a flight time of 16 to 30 hours," Defence Minister Mohammad Dehgan was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency on Monday.

Dehgan said the new drone could carry out reconnaissance missions or launch air-to-surface missile strikes.

The aircraft was tested "successfully" and "shows that sanctions imposed by the enemies are not an obstacle to the progress of the defence industry," the minister told the unveiling ceremony.

In recent years, Iran has launched an ambitious drone programme, causing worry in the United States and the West.

In late September, the elite Revolutionary Guards announced the mass production of the "Shahed 129" drone, which it said has a range of 1,700 kilometres, is capable of carrying eight missiles and can fly for 24 hours.

In the same month, Iran unveiled a reconnaissance drone named "Yasseer," which was said to be capable of flying for eight hours with a range of 200 kilometres and at an altitude of 4,500 metres.

Yasseer was based on the US ScanEagle drone, a model of which Tehran claimed to have captured in December 2012 and reproduced since then.

The Iranian army also recently boasted that it was producing a series of drones called Rad-85.