New equipment at the parades on the Day of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran
UAV Kaman-22 with dismantled wings on the "front" trailer.
Foreign assessments of the Iranian defense industry and its products are mixed. On the one hand, obviously advanced structures are being created in this country, such as anti-aircraft missile systems, integrated radar stations and ballistic missiles, and on the other hand, Iran boasts of weapons and equipment that seem to be dumped in the back of a garage by a group of impatient teenagers. In the case of many designs, there is at least a high probability of fraud - at best, these are models of something that can be finalized one day and will work in accordance with the assumptions of the creators and the customer, and at worst, effective dummies only for propaganda purposes.
The reason for the presentation of military innovations in Iran is usually military parades, held many times a year on various occasions. April 18 is the Day of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, but this year - presumably due to the COVID-19 pandemic - instead of large-scale events with the participation of a large number of spectators, celebrations were organized on the territory of military facilities, which were broadcast by local and central media.
Kaman-22 with a set of weapons and additional equipment (in the foreground a container for target illumination, followed by a guided aerial bomb, the weight of which significantly exceeds the carrying capacity of the camera, and a jamming container) and in a front view showing a small-diameter optoelectronic head, and also combat equipment suspended on underwing beams.
The presentations themselves were limited, often featuring only individual vehicles of each type. Some of them were almost certainly prototypes. The technology was dominated by designs belonging to the category that Iran apparently attached paramount importance to - anti-aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles. Previously, such a priority was the construction of ballistic missiles. This was not only a political justification. Contrary to what it appears to be, building a simple ground-to-ground missile is relatively easy. Problems begin when trying to provide him with high accuracy independent of range, a large payload, as well as a reduction and simplification of pre-takeoff procedures. The situation in the case of unmanned aerial vehicles can be considered similar. Even the smartest elementary school student can build a small remote-controlled plane. Building a classic aircraft or quadcopter capable of carrying simple weapons is a little more difficult, and real combat drones require deep engineering knowledge, access to advanced technologies, and a lot of resources for testing and launching into production. Initially, due in large part to the simplicity of their design, Iranian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems abroad were highly critical, even dismissive. However, at least since Iranian drones have been used by the Yemeni Ansar Allah against Saudi-led Arab coalition forces (more on WiT 6, 7 and 9/2020), these estimates have needed to be verified. The final proof of the maturity of Iranian designs was the September 13-14, 2019 night attack on the world's largest oil refineries in Abqaiq and Churays, covered by extensive anti-aircraft weapons, including Shahin and Patriot missile systems. Many facilities of both refineries were successfully attacked by Iranian-made UAVs.
This year, several new types of unmanned aerial vehicles took part in the April celebrations. The largest was the Kaman-22, very similar to the American GA-ASI MQ-9 Reaper. This is one of the most complex Iranian vehicles of its class, and at first glance it differs significantly from its American prototype with a smaller optoelectronic head mounted under the front of the fuselage. Kaman-22 has six underwing beams to accommodate weapons with a payload capacity of up to 100 kg and one underhull beam. Systems from the other extreme are also shown - small very simple Nezaj machines, which, however, must work in a swarm of three to ten devices, i.e. attack targets together, and even exchange information on the fly [it is more likely that on one of the cameras he acts as a leader, remaining under the control of a ground station, and the rest follow him - approx. ed.]. Whether new machines will actually be able to do this is unknown. The team consists of ten cars, and their range is from 10 to 400 km depending on the model (three different sizes and designs are shown). Apparently, operation at such a distance from the starting position will become possible after transporting vehicles close to the target on the backs of slightly larger Jassir unmanned aerial vehicles. It is possible that they should play the role of an "intelligent understudy" of combat vehicles - indicate their goals, exchange information with the command post, etc.
