Iran, the US, China, Russia and Israel are the world’s main manufacturers of drones.
Iran in November unveiled a newly-developed drone named 'Ababil 3' which has a maximum altitude of 15,000 ft, can fly for 8 hours non-stop, has a composite body and can take and send real-time images to the ground control stations or any other platform.
In September, Iran unveiled another new home-made drone named 'Sadeq 1' which flies at a maximum altitude of 25,000 ft at supersonic speeds.
Commander of Iran's Air Defense Unit, Brigadier General Farzad Esmayeeli, said in 2012 that Iran had equipped its air defense units with Haazem drones, which can be used as a target for air defense systems and also for reconnaissance missions.
The UAV can also carry missiles and be used for aerial bombardments as well.
