On July 15, units of the Navy of the Islamic Republic of Iran conducted exercises in the Indian Ocean, where the first part of unmanned aerial vehicles took place. This is reported by the Open Defense portal.

During the exercises, the Iranian army displayed different types of unmanned aerial vehicles. According to the IRNA news agency, the division includes ships and submarines equipped with combat, reconnaissance and attack drones, which have joined Iran’s southern fleet. The number of assets in the unit was not disclosed, but it is known that it uses different drones, including Pelican, Homa, Arash, Chamrosh, Jubin, Ababil-4 and Bavar-5, with up to 50 aircraft aboard one ship. .

Islamic Times writes that the drones in question have successfully completed all the exercises within the scope of the exercise. Thanks to the new division, Iran has become the only country in the region capable of launching UAVs from submarines.

Images released by Iranian media show three Iranian warships modified to launch drones. Open Defense analysts identified the Kilo Tareq-class submarine, the Fateh submarine, the Delvar support ship and the Lavan landing craft, which Iran ordered from Russia in 1988. The last two were used to launch the Arash and Ebail-2/3 kamikaze UAVs, while the Pelican-2 and the rather new Homa model were launched from the submarine.

According to Tasnim News, affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards, Homa is a winged drone that can fly like an airplane and land vertically. Little is known about this model yet, but outwardly it resembles the Iranian kamikaze drone Meraj.

Speaking to reporters after the exercise, Iranian Army Commander-in-Chief Major General Syed Abdolrahim Mousavi stated that unmanned aerial vehicles play a decisive role in modern defense. According to the commander, the presented Iranian UAVs are quite effective and will allow them to fight any threats and quickly respond to enemy mistakes.

“Due to the aggression and stance of the imperialist system, we have to increase our defense power, and this defense power covers various areas. The most important of these is the issue of UAVs and unmanned aerial vehicles as new areas.”

Admiral Shahram Irani, Commander of the Iranian Navy, added that upgrading support ships and equipping the fleet with drones will increase the combat potential of the army. According to him, thanks to reconnaissance and UAVs capable of recognizing objects, the army will be able to hit opponents from a height of thousands of kilometers.

Earlier, information emerged that Iran plans to supply Russia with attack aircraft and train operators. “According to the United States, Tehran is preparing to send hundreds of drones, including combat models, to the Russians,” said Jake Sullivan, White House national security adviser.

Focus I found out what types of drones the Iranian army currently has. In 2021, WorldView-2 satellite captured an entire fleet of drones participating in exercises in the Semnan region. Analysts detected 154 aircraft, including models equipped with missiles. According to Bellingcat, the Iranian army uses guided, assault and kamikaze unmanned aerial vehicles that explode upon impact. The most famous are “Ababil”, “Mohajer” and “Shahed 129”.