Iranian Missiles and Clone of Downed U.S. Drone on Display in Iran

Following are excerpts from a TV report on Iranian missiles, which aired on Al-Manar TV on October 10, 2012.

Reporter: As the talk of war escalates, Iran has placed its military capabilities on display in public places. This was not done in order to send a message to the enemy, but in order to acquaint the public with the capabilities of the IRGC.

For the first time, Iranians can get a close view of their air defense capabilities and can get to know weapon systems that they have only seen on TV until now.

Iranian citizen: We are prepared for any possibility, and will stand by our leader until our last breath. We will not give up defending our country.

Reporter: The IRGC commanders declared that they have produced a drone aircraft with a range of 1,700 km. These drones may have adopted modern technologies from the RQ-170 plane, which was downed in eastern Iran – the most modern of US aircrafts.

The air defense units studied this aircraft, emptying it of all its components. They studied its engine and its radars. Today, they are trying to clone it and incorporate the new drone into service.

Commander of the Basij General Mohammad Reza Naqdi: They do not know who they are threatening. They are threatening one of the strongest countries. We are capable of defending ourselves. We besiege the aggressors from all sides.

Their threats against Iran stem from fear. Fear makes them raise their voices.

Reporter: The stars of the show are the Qadr, Sijjil, and Qiyam missiles – ballistic missiles that amaze everybody with their height of 16 meters. They avidly listened to the experts explaining the role of these missiles, their range, their solid and liquid fuels, as well as their destructive power.

The Zilzal missile was highlight of the show, because of its expected role in the ballistic barrage. 30 years ago, Iran was not capable of putting these missiles into use. Today, they say that the Shahab 3 missile has been taken out of service, because there are missiles of more advanced generations, which surpass it in destructive power and range.

[...]