Saturday 8 October 2022

The Oryx Handbook Of Iranian Drones


By Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans

The Islamic Republic of Iran was one of the first countries in the world to operationally deploy unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) during the Iran-Iraq War of 1980 to 1988. Consisting of radio-controlled Mohajer-1s armed with up to six RPG-7, Iran's drone arsenal has since expanded to include copies of the U.S. RQ-170 Sentinel, PGM-toting (stealth) UCAVs and highly accurate loitering muntions. These types set the stage for an increasingly effective replication of legacy aerial assets, a fact that has not gone unnoticed by an increasing number of customers for Iranian drone designs.
 
The goal of this list is to comprehensively catalogue Iran's current inventory of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and their armament. In an effort to streamline the list and avoid unnecessary confusion, this list only includes military drones associated with Iran's defence industry or military-grade UAVs with at least some chance of entering service. The part within the apostrophes refers to other designations or an unofficial designation. Dubious claims are referred to as ''claimed to be capable''.

(Click on the drones and their armament to get a picture of them)

Surveillance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles - Operational


Surveillance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles - Prototypes


Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles - Operational


Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles - Prototypes


Loitering Munitions - Operational


Loitering Munitions - Prototypes

 

Target Drones


UAV Helicopters


Vertical Take-Off and Landing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles


Foreign Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Recovered By Iran

  • AAI Aerosonde [United States] (Recover date unknown)
  • Desert Hawk [United States] (Presumably recovered by Iran-affiliated militias in Syria or Iraq)
  • Desert Hawk III [United States] (Presumably recovered by Iran-affiliated militias in Syria or Iraq)
  • MQ-1A Predator [United States] (Recover date unknown)
  • RQ-4A Global Hawk BAMS-D [United States] (Parts recovered after being shot down over the Strait of Hormuz in June 2019)
  • RQ-7 Shadow [United States] (Presumably recovered by Iran-affiliated militias in Syria or Iraq)
  • RQ-11 Raven [United States] (Presumably recovered by Iran-affiliated militias in Syria or Iraq)
  • RQ-170 Sentinel "The Beast of Kandahar" [United States] (Recovered in December 2011) 
  • Phoenix [Great Britain] (Parts recovered. Presumably recovered by Iran-affiliated militias in Syria or Iraq)
  • Scan Eagle [United States] (One recovered in December 2014 and another at an unknown date)
  • Israel Hermes 200 [Azerbaijan] (Recovered in August 2014)
  • Israel IAI Harop [Azerbaijan] (Several crashed inside Iran during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War)

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