Following the destruction of mock enemy targets on the second day of a massive countrywide drone exercise, Vice Admiral Seyed Mahmoud Mousavi, the spokesman for the drone drill, said on Thursday that the second day of the maneuvers witnessed “combat training using actual weapons.”

He added that a considerable part of the designated targets have so far been destroyed and the mission will be concluded in the hours to come, adding that various types of combat drones operated by the four units of the Army, namely the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, and Air Defense Force, hit the pre-determined targets in the general area of the exercises — which cover almost all Iranian territory and strategic southern waters — with precision and high-accuracy weapons in the major operational phase of the maneuvers.

In this phase, he added, Kaman, Mohajer, Ababil, Karrar, and Bavar drones used homegrown weapons, including Qa’em bombs, Almas missiles, and MK-82 bombs to target positions ranging from command and control centers to fuel tanks, ammunition depots, and radar and missile systems.

Mousavi said a variety of drones with pre-determined operational plans were flown from different remote parts of the country and carried out their missions under the supervision of the drills’ tactical air direction (TAD) center. 

“Given the fact that the drills take place countrywide, the Army’s Zolfaghar tactical air direction center and a number of other secondary bases in different locations of the country have been in charge of strategic and operational management of the maneuvers,” he added.

On the first day of the Army’s two-day large-scale drone drill, surveillance drones successfully conducted intelligence-gathering and patrol missions. Combat drones also practiced detecting and destroying enemy targets.

Mousavi said on Wednesday that homegrown Yasir, Sadeq (Sincere), Yazdan, and Ababil-3 tactical surveillance unmanned aerial vehicles, Pelican vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) naval drone, in addition to Mohajer-6 ISTAR aircraft, were flown from different bases across Iran and monitored the country’s frontiers.

Iranian military experts and technicians have in recent years made substantial headways in manufacturing a broad range of indigenous equipment, making the armed forces self-sufficient in the arms sphere. Iranian officials have repeatedly underscored that the country will never stop working to strengthen its military capabilities for defense purposes.