TEHRAN – Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) unveiled its first publicly disclosed underground drone base on Thursday, showcasing advanced unmanned systems capable of evading radar detection and conducting prolonged surveillance of U.S. naval assets in the Persian Gulf.

The facility in Iran’s southern Hormozgan Province, situated along the shores of the Persian Gulf, is part of Tehran’s escalating investments in asymmetric warfare and hardened defense infrastructure. The country previously unveiled several missile and fast attack craft bases built underground. 

The newly publicized complex, revealed during a ceremony attended by IRGC Commander-in-Chief Major General Hossein Salami and IRGC Navy Commander Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri, houses hundreds of domestically produced drones, including the Mohajer-6 — a stealth UAV with a carbon-fiber body and advanced anti-electronic warfare system that monitored the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower for ten consecutive hours undetected.

Footage broadcast by the country's national television showcased the drone's high-resolution imagery of the aircraft carrier and other U.S. naval assets in the Persian Gulf, highlighting its capability to penetrate and monitor advanced U.S. naval defenses.

According to the footage, the facility accommodates Ababil?3 and Ababil?5 reconnaissance drones, Bavar?5 loitering munitions, and the Sadegh intelligence-gathering UAV, along with other yet-to-be-unveiled drones—all capable of launching from underground silos or improvised dirt runways.

’Any location of enemy interest is a target:’ IRGC Chief

General Salami described the unveiling as both a defensive measure and a psychological tool to recalibrate adversaries’ perceptions.

“Another dimension of displaying our power is to correct the enemies’ miscalculations,” he declared during the base tour, adding, “Any location from which aggression originates will become the target of our counterattack.”

Salami assured Iranians of the country's military capabilities to counter any threat. "Our dear nation should know that we stand with our hands full against our enemies," he said.

"What the dear Iranian nation is witnessing today is a small part of the IRGC Navy's enormous drone capability," Salami said.

"The drones at the disposal of this force are the most modern and advanced drone technologies in the world, giving our commanders a free hand for various types of strikes and providing flexibility in planning."

Iran’s drone program, a cornerstone of its defensive strategy, has grown exponentially despite international sanctions.

The IRGC’s emphasis on underground bases aligns with Iran’s long-standing defensive doctrine, designed to safeguard critical military infrastructure from aerial threats.

Last year, Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force, declared, "There are few cities in Iran that do not have a missile city."

He added that the sheer number of the country’s underground missile bases is so vast that once detected, enemies would be unable to effectively counter them. "What you see is merely the tip of the iceberg," he emphasized.