Iran says new drone can cover much of region

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? A senior Iranian commander says the country's newly-produced missile-carrying drone has a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles), which puts much of the Middle East within operating distance of Iranian territory.

The Monday report by the semiofficial Fars agency quoted Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, who is aerospace chief of the powerful Revolutionary Guards.

His description of the aircraft, which Iran first announced last week, is like that of the American RQ-170 Sentinel, one of which went down in Iranian territory last year. Iran said it was building a copy of the RQ-170 in April.

The Islamic Republic's defense industry frequently announces technological breakthroughs that are impossible to verify independently.

Gen. Hajizadeh said the drone has civilian and military uses.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-09-24-Iran-Drone/id-d40f335e5f0944c9bc8dacd399989c00

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