IRGC launches massive drone wargame over Persian Gulf

TEHRAN (defapress) – The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) launched a massive drone combat and assault wargame, codenamed 'Ela Beit ul-Muqaddas-1' (Towards al-Quds), over the Persian Gulf waters, south of Iran, on Thursday.

News ID: 76184

Date: 14 March 2019 - 13:54

During the drill, the IRGC Aerospace Force flew tens of unmanned aerial vehicles toward a target on a small island in the Persian Gulf.

The squadron of the aerial vehicles, including 50 Iranian versions of the US RQ-170 Sentinel stealth drones, took off from bases as far as a thousand kilometers away from the operation zone to bomb the target.

The 50 domestic RQ-170 drones and a number of other combat and assault pilotless planes attacked a spot on Bani Farur Island in Iran’s territorial waters in the Persian Gulf.

All the aircraft in the war game successfully bombed the target at the same time.

The wargame was attended by IRGC Deputy Commander Brigadier General Hossein Salami, Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, and Commander of the Khatam al-Anbia Headquarters Major General Gholam Ali Rashid.

Speaking on the sidelines of the military drill, General Rashid said the large-scale exercise with such a high number of homegrown drones, should humiliate the enemies wanting to mar the country’s integrity.

Brigadier General Hajizadeh also hailed the power of the Iranian drones saying that IRGC has also employed a number of drones similar to the American MQ-1 Predator.

He described such a breakthrough as a slap in the face of the US and a reminder that the huge US military spending in the region produces such results.

In December, the IRGC Ground Force launched massive military drills in southern parts of Iran.

Iran’s Armed Forces hold routine military exercises throughout the year.

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