Iran Reveals ‘Advanced Precision-Guided Smart Bombs’ for Drones

The Iranian military on Tuesday unveiled three “advanced precision-guided smart bombs” it claims can be mounted on drone aircraft. According to Iranian media, all three of the weapons are domestically produced.

Watch: #Iran produces three new domestically-made #missiles. pic.twitter.com/3n5D6TPvN6

— Press TV (@PressTV) August 7, 2019

Radio Farda described the big reveal, which featured Iranian Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Amir Hatami declaring that his forces will “never hesitate to defend the Islamic Republic and boost security despite the malice and conspiracies hatched by the Great Satan, America”:

The so-called new bombs, named “Yasin” (after one of the surahs in Quran), and Balaban (a bird of prey) were “unveiled” on Tuesday, August 6, along with a new series of the Qaem (also spelled as Ghaem) optic bombs.

Local news outlets report that the new bombs are all domestically manufactured.

Speaking at the event introducing the munitions, Iran’s Defense Minister, Brigadier General Amir Hatami, said “Balaban” has folding wings designed to increase its range. It is guided by GPS and sensors and could be mounted under planes, choppers, and drones.

Hatami described Yasin as a long-range smart, pinpoint and guided bomb that can be fired from a range of 50 kilometers of its target from manned or unmanned aircraft.

Qaem is also a “smart bomb” meant for precision strikes and could hit within 50 centimeters of a target, the minister claimed.

Elaborating on Qaem, Gen. Hatami said it can be installed on various kinds of drones, choppers and fighter jets for destroying fortifications and moving targets.

The Iranian Army Ground Force announced in mid-July that it has received “advanced drones” similar to those used by the generally better-equipped Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). These Mohajer-6 drones were said to be capable of carrying the type of bombs unveiled on Tuesday.

Iranian parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani boasted that the new “precision arms” give Iran the ability to “strike all U.S. bases across the region.” He said that if America and its allies “have a little bit of ability to reason,” they “will not enter a war with Iran.”

Defense Minister Hatami said on Wednesday that Iran will soon roll out another new weapon, a locally-built version of the Russian S-300 surface-to-air missile.