Iranian Ships Will Use Cutting-Edge Drones Amid Equipment Upgrade - Navy Head

Tehran continues to boost its military amid a standoff with the US in the wake of Washington establishing a maritime coalition patrolling the waters near Iran's borders.

"Today, the Navy's warships are equipped with drones that have a range of 200 to 1,000 kilometres, but all the flight and intelligence limits will fade away once the new drones arrive", Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi promised during a meeting with Navy personnel.

He stressed that servicemen are working day and night to upgrade equipment and that, so everybody "will soon witness the addition of long-range drones" aboard Iranian battleships.

According to the admiral, the country's destroyers have been equipped with a vertical missile launching system, which allows them to efficiently shoot down incoming aircraft and missiles.

Iranian patrol frigate Alvand transits through the Suez Canal on February 22, 2011 bound, along with support ship Kharg, for the Mediterranean Sea on a purported training mission that Israel regards as a provocation

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The Islamic Republic comtinues to boost its defence despite numerous restrictions imposed on arms sales to the country by the UN and the EU between 2007 and 2010 due to a nuclear programme row. While the UN arms embargo is scheduled to be lifted in October 2020, the EU is supposed to lift its arms sanctions in October 2023.