Middle East Focus: New Iranian Drones: a Game Changer?.............

Arabia Deserta

New Iranian Drones: a Game Changer?.............

“A senior Iranian military official warned that Tehran's newly produced unmanned aerial vehicles were capable of both striking hostile targets and gathering intelligence. "The planes," Pourdastan said of the new drones, "would be used for operations as well as surveillance, which means that they can send us online footage from faraway distances and can also be armed for striking at targets." He didn't elaborate but Iran's designs have already raised a critical eyebrow in Washington. U.S. Secretary of State Robert Gates, specifically, warned last month that the new drones could "create difficulty" for the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan, expressing fear, also, that the aircraft could fall into the hands of terrorists. Tehran launched an arms development program 30 years ago, in the wake of a U.S. weapons embargo. As of 1992, it has produced its own tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles and fighter aircraft……..”

Some of these drones have already been sighted by the US military on the Iran-Iraq border.
On the positive side, the drones can help Tehran deal with the difficult problem of Afghan drug smugglers. They can help change the anti-drug war on the border. The border regions are extended and rugged, and Iran has had a hard time controlling the drug runners for a couple of decades. Now, if these drones are sophisticated enough, they should help track, find, and perhaps attack the smugglers. A role similar to that of the US drones in the Pakistan-Afghan border area.

Of course, soon after this, all countries in the region would want their own drones- they will soon become the latest fashion. Any Persian Gulf potentate worthy of his bank account and silk underwear would want a squadron of them. Unlike the Americans, Israelis, and Iranians, they would have to buy them.
Cheers
mhg

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