Iran Captures Drone During Military Operation

Iran captured a drone during a military operation, according to the country’s Revolutionary Guard.

Iran has claimed to have captured US several drones in the past, though those claims have not been validated by the US military.

It is not yet known what kind of drone was captured, reports The Washington Post. Spokesman for the military exercise General Hamid Sarkheili stated that the guard’s electronic warfare unit spotted the signal of a foreign drone trying to enter Iran’s airspace.

Experts were able to take control of its navigation system and bring it down near Sirjan. Sarkheili explained:

“While probing signals in the area, we spotted foreign and enemy drones which attempted to enter the area of the war game. We were able to get one enemy drone to land.”

The military operation involved the Revolutionary Guard attacking hypothetical enemy positions. Unmanned planes that operate like suicide bombers were also being tested.

In the past, Iran has allegedly captured at least three ScanEagle aircraft, as well as one advanced RQ-170 Sentinel CIA spy drone. The military operation was code-named Great Prophet-8, according to The New York Times. General Sarkheili explained of the operation:

“Reconnaissance as well as suicide drones, which are capable of attacking the hypothetical enemies, were deployed and their operations capabilities were studied.”

Along with drones, the country’s military also tested tanks and artillery, which attacked the hypothetical enemy. Despite the claims by Iran that it has captured US drones, the US has denied flying near Iranian airspace. Sarkheili did not say whether the drone Iran captured was American.

[Image by US Air Force (http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2005/s2421.htm) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons]