The Iranian military launched a two-day air drills campaign on Tuesday involving unmanned combat and surveillance aircraft, as well as “suicide drones” designed to obliterate targets from above, state media reported.
Hundreds of combat drones are participating in the “first major drone exercise” carried out by the Iranian army in central Semnan province, the state news agency IRNA reported.
“The exercise will include tracking and destroying air targets using air-to-air missiles and will also include destroying ground targets using precision bombs and missiles,” said the news service, citing Rear Admiral Mahmoud Mousavi, deputy commander of the army.
Iran had previously conducted simulations using military drones, according to the Associated Press, but these exercises were launched days after the one-year anniversary of the assassination of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, who died in a US drone aerial attack at the International Airport of Baghdad.
As part of the two-day exercise, Mousavi said that suicide drones will be tested extensively. A U.S. official told Reuters last year that the unmanned aircraft could perform a “kamikaze” mission when packed with explosives and flown directly against a target.
The exercises will also incorporate unmanned aircraft dispatched by the Iranian navy in the waters of the south of the country, as well as “long-range flights to locate suicide drones” with the aim of destroying foreign enemies, said Mousavi.
Since Soleimani’s death, American officials have feared a retaliatory attack.
President Trump on Monday ordered the warship USS Nimitz to remain in the Persian Gulf after being told to return to Washington state.
“Due to the recent threats made by Iranian leaders against President Trump and other government officials, I ordered the USS Nimitz to stop its routine redistribution,” said acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller in a statement on Sunday.
“No one should doubt the determination of the United States of America.”