On May 28, 2022, Channel 1 (Iran) aired a report about a "top-secret" UAV base reportedly located hundreds of meters underground somewhere in the Zagros Mountains. General Abdolrahim Mousavi, the Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army, told the reporter that he is the first journalist allowed entry into the facility, and that drone and missile capabilities can determine who wins the battle in today's "hybrid wars."
The reporter said that the base contains hundreds of combat, reconnaissance, and "suicide" drones, some of which he said can operate from the base and from other underground bases for 24 hours straight without returning to base. He also described some of the drones and their capabilities, including: the Ababil-5 drone, which he said can take off from 500-meter runways and fire the Ghaem-9 missile, which he said is comparable to the American Hellfire missile; the Kaman-22 drone, which he said is a "strategic" drone with a range of at least 2,000 kilometers, and which he said fires the Heydar-cruise missile, making it the first drone to fire cruise missiles; and the Fotros drones, which he said have a range of at least 200 kilometers and are equipped with Ghaem laser-guided bombs and Almas missiles.
According to General Mousavi, the base, named the 313 Strategic UAV Base, is one of several "located in different parts of the country [...] and have been operating for a very long time." He noted that "the missions assigned to the secret bases of the Army are very special and mainly operated abroad."[1]
To view the MEMRI TV clip of the Iranian TV report click here or below:
Photos and videos documenting a visit to the base the same day by Iranian Army Chief of Staff Major General Hossein Bagheri were also published on May 29 by Iranian media.[2] The following are images from a clip published by the Tehran Times:
The following images were published by Tasnim News:
General Abdolrahim Mousavi, the Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army and Iranian Army Chief of Staff Major General Hossein Bagheri.
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