TEHRAN – Over the past two decades, Iranian knowledge-based companies have made notable efforts and contributed significantly to designing, building, and utilizing various types of drones for civilian purposes, including smart agriculture, cargo transport, maritime missions, as well as rescue and relief operations.

Drones have become one of the most intelligent tools in the military, security, industrial, agricultural, and municipal services. The technology has revolutionized operations management, data collection, and risk reduction by enabling complex missions to be performed remotely, without human presence on site.

With the rapid advancement of remotely piloted aircraft technologies in the country, drones have transitioned from purely military tools and are now recognized as key players in agriculture, relief and rescue operations, mapping, and environmental protection.

Currently, Iran is not only self-sufficient in the drone industry but is also among the countries at the forefront of drone technology.

Knowledge-based companies in cooperation with universities and the Vice-Presidency for Science have managed to develop specific drones to be used in agriculture. These drones are designed with aerial imaging capabilities; they are capable of monitoring fields, identifying pests, measuring plant health with infrared spectrum, as well as soil and vegetation temperature, mapping agricultural lands, spraying pesticides, and even seeding.

These drones are usually equipped with multispectral cameras, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) sensors, precise GPS systems, and tanks to spray liquids.

One of the main goals is to increase land productivity, reduce water and pesticide consumption, lower human costs, and increase precision in farm management.

About 225 knowledge-based companies are operating in designing and building drones for civilian purposes in Iran, and these companies have official licenses for production and operation. In the agricultural sector, more than 500 knowledge-based companies, including start-ups and technology companies, are operating in various agricultural sectors, with over 10 of them being specialized in manufacturing agricultural drones and providing related services.

Notable growth in knowledge-based companies

The significant and fast-paced growth in the number of knowledge-based companies with over 200 percent increase in their number just over the Iranian year 1402 year (March 2023 – March 2024), shows the solid foundation, dynamism, and growth of the country in innovation and technology and the productive atmosphere which have been made available in line with the goal of boosting domestic production with public participation.

The current administration underscores the quantitative and qualitative development of knowledge-based companies. The number of companies, which was around 5,000 before the current administration took office in August 2021, has now reached 10,000 with a total value of two billion dollars.

Iran’s knowledge-based companies exported over 3.6 million tons of products, valued at $2.506 billion, in the Iranian calendar year (ended March 19, 2024), according to the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA).

Based on the IRICA data, some 1.158 million tons of goods, valued at $5.141 billion, were also imported by knowledge-based companies into the country from March 21, 2023, to March 19, 2024.

About 85 percent of the goods imported by the knowledge-based companies came from China, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey, Germany, and India, IRNA reported.

The domestic knowledge-based companies exported their products to China, Iraq, the UAE, Turkey, and Russia in this period, IRICA said.

In this period, the knowledge-based companies accounted for 2.6 and 5 percent of the country’s total exports in weight and value, respectively.

Advanced materials and products based on chemical technologies accounted for about 80 percent of the export value of these companies.

China was Iran’s first buyer of knowledge-based products in this period.

MT/MG