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Iran unveils underground drone base
More than 100 combat, reconnaissance and attack drones kept for operations at base, report says
Chief of Staff of Iranian Army General Mohammad Bagheri and Commander Abdolrahim Mousavi visit an underground drone base in Iran. AFP
Iranian state television on Saturday broadcast footage of an air force base for drones under the Zagros mountain range in the west of the country.
The exact location of the base was not revealed, although the TV reporter said he travelled on a helicopter for nearly 40 minutes from the city of Kermanshah to reach it.
Iran started developing drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), in the 1980s during its eight-year war with Iraq.
Video aired on state television showed Iran's Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Mohammad Bagheri and army Commander Abdolrahim Mousavi visiting the underground site.
"More than 100 combat, reconnaissance and attack drones belonging to the army are kept for operations in this base located in the heart of the Zagros mountains," the report said.
Bagheri, quoted by the official news agency IRNA, described the site as a "safe operational base for strategic drones".
"We never underestimate threats, we never assume the enemy is asleep, and we are constantly alert and vigilant," he added.
Mousavi told state television the base was located "several hundred metres (yards) underground", without giving further details.
State TV said the flagship of the fleet was the "Kaman-22", a drone equipped with missiles and able to fly at least 2,000 kilometres (1,245 miles).
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