Iran tests suicide drones in ongoing military drill

TEHRAN - The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Ground Force tested different asymmetric tactics and various types of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAVs), including its suicide drones, in ongoing military drill in eastern country, semi- official Fars news agency reported on Saturday.

The IRGC started a 3-day military drill, code-named the Great Prophet 8, in the east of Iran on Saturday.

The spokesman for the drill, General Hamid Sarkheili, told reporters that "For the first time, our special modern warfare task forces are conducting specialized operations," and the IRGC forces tested targeting hypothetical enemies' drones and used different types of UAVs in the first day of the drill.

In the drill, "the reconnaissance as well as suicide drones, which are capable of attacking the enemies, have been used and their operational capabilities came under assessment," the spokesman was quoted sa saying.

Earlier on Saturday, Sarkheili said that at the first stage of the drill the participating IRGC units started "stable regional defense" tactics after they were joined by Basij (volunteer) units.

"In this phase, units entered the battlefield backed by aerial and artillery firepower and intelligence support by UAVs in a bid to fulfill the (designated) objectives and bring the targets under direct fire," Sarkheili was quoted as saying by Fars.

Also, the IRGC's electronic warfare systems successfully identified and thwarted the hypothetical enemy's electronic jamming campaign at this phase of the drill.

Commander of the IRGC Ground Forces, Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour, said Wednesday that the 3-day drill would cover areas in the east of Iran including the cities of Kerman, Siriz and Sirjan, aiming at testing the latest military equipment of the IRGC, maintaining the forces' preparedness and carrying out asymmetric warfare techniques.