Iran Shows New Jet Bomber Drone

Iran unveiled a jet-powered UAV that it claimed could deliver two 250-pound bombs to targets beyond 600-miles range. The Karar drone appears to be in the same class as the CL-289 UAV designed and built for reconnaissance by Canadair in the 1980s. It was unveiled on Iran’s Defence Industry Day by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who described it as “a messenger of death.” Karar is the Farsi word for “assailant.” The UAV’s claimed range is about half that of the longest range ballistic missile in the Iranian inventory. Israeli analysts have suggested that the new Iranian UAV is a scaled-up version of the Skua target drone manufactured by Denel in South Africa. It has the same tail section design, but no other apparent similarities.