Iran develops drone that can takeoff from and land on water

Iran has claimed to have developed a drone that can take off from and land on water while carrying both missiles and bombs. Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGS)’s Naval Commander, Rear Admiral Ali Reza Tangsiri on 24 September announced that the new drone would be deployed soon, according to Iran’s Mehr News Agency. Tangsiri didn’t divulge much information on this new drone though. “This capability will be announced in the future,” he added. Besides the water-landing drone, the IRGC Navy has also developed hybrid drones with two independent engines for propulsion and launch, which can conduct reconnaissance missions for 15 hours running. These, the Admiral said, would join the IRGS’s naval fleet soon. This announcement came just a couple of days after Iran unveiled “the longest-range drone in the world.” Iran’s drone program has been catching pace in the last few years. While the West accuses Iran of reverse engineering foreign equipment, Iran’s Chief of Armed Forces, Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri denies the claim strongly. Iran today has a line-up of drones, with claims of more in the works. Mohajer, Shahed, and Arash are the known series of Iranian drones thus far. Iran’s drone program became more prominent after Russia deployed the Kamikaze drones, Shaheds, to successfully destroy Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure. Last month only Iran announced the development of Mohajer-10, a cutting-edge development over the Mohajer-6 used by Russia. The upgrade can fly longer, and farther and carry more payload. Iranian state media said that it had a range of 2000 km and could carry a payload as heavy as 300 kg, twice that of the Mohajer-6. The success of Iran’s drone program has triggered the attention of its regional adversary Israel and that of the US which stations troops around the Persian gulf. The Israeli media reported the “Down with Israel”, “Down with the USA”, and “Prepare your shelters” signs at the parade which saw the unveiling of the drone with the “longest range in the world.” And last week the US sanctioned seven people and four companies from China, Russia and Turkey for alleged connections to Iran’s drone progam.