TEHRAN, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) conducted a major combat drone drill in the Gulf on Thursday, Press TV reported.
The drill, dubbed Towards al-Quds 1, was staged by the IRGC's Aerospace Division.
Dozens of RQ-170 stealth unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that Iran has manufactured on the basis of a model of a U.S. Sentinel drone, were used in the maneuver, said the report.
It is the first time that Iran deploys a high number of attack drones in a simulated combat situation.
Hossein Salami, the IRGC's deputy commander, said that "despite the empty and satanic dreams of the U.S. and other ill-wishers of the Iranian nation, we witnessed dozens of modern and advanced domestic RQ-170s and other types of combat drones in flight during a major drill and unique offensive operation on Thursday."
The IRGC's Aerospace Division is proud of being the pioneer in the area of producing modern and advanced drones at home, Salami was quoted as saying.
He also said the test operation of the drones was successful and all of them successfully destroyed the enemy targets during the maneuver.
Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the IRGC's Aerospace Division, said on Thursday that his forces have reached self-sufficiency in designing, producing and operating drones.
