(Archives)
Photo: AFP
Iran says captured 2 US-made drones
Tehran claims it downed two miniature surveillance drones over past 17 months; US Navy says all unmanned aircrafts in the area accounted for
Iran has captured two miniature US-made surveillance drones over the past 17 months, Iranian media reported on Wednesday.
Several drone incidents over the past year have highlighted tension in the Gulf as Iran and the United States flex their military capabilities in the vital oil exporting region in a standoff over Iran's disputed nuclear program.
Relate stories:
- Iran claims capture of another US drone
- Iran says it can make copy of captured CIA drone
- Iran believes US drone was spying on oil tankers
The lightweight RQ11 Raven drones were brought down by Iranian air defense units in separate incidents in August 2011 and November 2012, Rear Admiral Amir Rastegari told the Fars news agency.
"Much of the data of these drones has been decoded by the Army's jihad and research centre," he said, without elaborating.
Manufactured by AeroVironment, the RQ11 Raven has a wingspan of 4.5 feet and a range of 6.2 miles and is used by the US military for low-altitude surveillance.
Iran said on December 4 that it had captured a US intelligence ScanEagle drone in its air space over the Gulf in the previous few days, but the United States said there was no evidence to support the assertion.
The US Navy said had not lost any unmanned aircraft in the area.
In November, the United States said Iranian warplanes shot at a US drone flying in international air space.
Iran said the aircraft had entered its air space to spy on Iranian oil platforms and said it would respond "decisively" to any incursions.
- Receive Ynetnews updates
directly to your desktop
