TEHRAN – A senior spokesperson for the Iranian Armed Forces says the replication of the Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) Shahed 136 by certain superpowers which claim to be in possession of cutting-edge technology is a confession of Iran’s eye-catching breakthroughs. 

Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi said it is a source of pride for Iran to see heavyweights in the domain of military knowhow such as the United States are manufacturing copies of modern Iranian drones to “make up for the things they don’t have.”

“It is a very great honor for the Iranian nations, the Aerospace Division of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and other parts of the Armed Forces,” the top general explained.

“Today, world nations have set their eyes on the breakthroughs made by the Islamic Republic of Iran; they take pride [in Iran’s progress], too, because they themselves are being oppressed by the tyranny of global hegemony,” he noted.

“As the Islamic Republic of Iran supports the oppressed around the world, naturally world nations are proud of this country,” the general said.

He further touched upon the 12-day US-Israeli military aggression against Iran, saying any further mistakes by the enemy will be met with a response more crushing than before.

Iran’s massive and rapid progress in drone technology and its capabilities to carry out long-range strikes in drone warfare with a high level of accuracy have cemented the country’s growing military might in West Asia.

The cutting-edge drone program has been among the Iranian military’s breakthroughs in manufacturing a broad range of domestically-developed defensive equipment to make the armed forces self-sufficient in the face of years-long US threats and sanctions.

Iranian officials have repeatedly warned that the country will not hesitate to strengthen its military capabilities, which are entirely meant for defense.

Iran deployed its domestically-made UAVs, including Shahed drones, in retaliatory attacks against Israel during the regime’s military aggression against Iran back in June.

Meanwhile, several countries have begun manufacturing copies of Iran’s Shahed drone, which are not expensive but efficient and accurate, a leading American daily reported recently.

In a report, The Wall Street Journal said that different corporations in the United States, China, France and the UK are developing armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) modeled after Iran’s Shahed.
The United States and its allies are “competing to develop low-cost, long-range replica weapons,” it added.

The report also noted that models similar to the Shahed stood out among 18 types of US-made drone prototypes displayed at an event held by the US Department of War this summer.

Those models, it added, included LUCAS and Arrowhead made by SpectreWorks and Griffon Aerospace companies, respectively.

“The Shahed and its knockoffs have become so widespread that corporations such as Griffon and Sweden’s Saab are even selling target-practice UAVs resembling Iran’s munitions,” the report said.