Shahed Saegheh

Saegheh
A Saegheh-2[1] variant at a defence exhibition in Tehran.
Role Unmanned combat aerial vehicle
National origin Iran
Manufacturer Shahed Aviation Industries[2]
First flight November 2014[3]
Introduction October 2016
Status In service
Primary user IRGC AF
Produced 2010s–present
Number built 10 built, 50 planned (2019)[4]
Developed from RQ-170 Sentinel

The Shahed Saegheh (English: "Witness Thunderbolt"), also called the Shahed 191, is an Iranian turbofan/piston-powered flying wing unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) produced by Shahed Aviation Industries.[2] It is based on, but smaller than and substantially different from, a Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel UAV that was captured by Iran in 2011 and then reverse-engineered.[5] It is one of two Iranian flying wing UAVs based on the RQ-170, along with the Shahed 171 Simorgh, a larger version.

The Saegheh was revealed in October 2016.[6]

The drones can carry two Sadid-1 missiles, externally for the Saegheh-1, and internally for the Saegheh-2.[7][8]

As of 2017, 10 Saegheh drones were in production, and Iran planned to procure at least 50 by 2025.[2]

  1. ^ Jeremy Binnie (31 January 2019). "Iran unveils new version of armed stealth UAV - Jane's 360". www.janes.com. London. Archived from the original on 3 February 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Taghvaee, Babak (Jul 27, 2017). "Shahed 129 Heads Iran's Armed UAV Force". Aviation Week & Space Technology.
  3. ^ "Pentagon claims Iran's copy of captured US Sentinel drone 'inferior' to original - World news - The Guardian". Theguardian.com. 4 December 2014. Archived from the original on 4 December 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  4. ^ "Shahed 129 Heads Iran's Armed UAV Force | Aviation Week Network".
  5. ^ "Iran builds attack drone similar to captured US model, local media say". The Guardian. 2 October 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  6. ^ Cenciotti, David (2 October 2016). "Iran unveils new UCAV modeled on captured U.S. RQ-170 stealth drone".
  7. ^ Nikolov, Boyko (12 June 2023). "CIA's RQ-170 UAV could usher in a new series of Russian drones". Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  8. ^ Roblin, Sebastien (14 September 2021). "Your Guide to Iran's Diverse Fleet of Combat Drones". The National Interest. Retrieved 17 April 2024.