Ghods Mohajer

Mohajer
Type Strategic reconnaissance
Service history
Used by  Iran
Hezbollah
 Sudan[1]
 Syria
 Venezuela[2][3]
Production history
Manufacturer Ghods Aviation Industries
Variants 1/2/3/4
Specifications
Weight 85-174 kg (Depending on model)
Length 2.9-3.64 m (Depending on model)
Wingspan 5.3 m (For Mohajer 4)
Operational
range
 50-150 (Depending on model)
Speed 120-220 km/h (Depending on version)

Mohajer (Persian: مهاجر‎, "Migrant") or Mersad series of unmanned aerial vehicles is built by Iran. The Mohajer is primarily used to spy on military installations, enemy positions, etc. It may also be capable of guiding laser-guided munitions to their targets.[4]

History

Mohajer 2

Mohajer was first developed at the peak of the Iran-Iraq war. Studies started between 1980 by Iranian universities and IRGC as Iran needed surveillance equipment to gather information about Iraqi moves. Four prototypes were built in 1981 and were initially put into service to monitor the enemy lines in Shalamche. This drone which was later named Mohajer-1 was Iran's first step to manufacture UAVs. Mohajer continued to photograph Iraqi lines to the end of the war and accomplished 619 sorties at the end.[5] There are reports indicating that Mohajer-1 was armed with six RPG-7 rockets to attack enemy positions, making it the first UCAV in the world to be used in War.[6][7]

Following the successful use of Mohajer-1, Iran wanted a version with more range and endurance to monitor distant unreachable places. The version which was later named Mohajer-2 also had an auto pilot system to help it in its missions in places far from the reach of radio waves of command center. Its airframe was completely built with composite materials. More than 200 Mohajer-2s are built as of 2011.[5]

Mohajer-3 (also called Hodhod) was developed to further increase the range and endurance. The airframe was redesigned to achieve this goal.[8]

Mohajer-4 was later designed for both Iranian Army and IRGC. The airframe was again redesigned and better cameras were installed on the drone. Range and endurance were increased much more. There are two other variants of Mohajer-4 called "Hodhod A/100" and "Shahin". As of 2006, 30 Mohajer-4 and 10 Shahins were built.[8] Engine used in this Drone is WAE342 or 3w engines.

Operational History

During the 1990s civil war in Afghanistan, Mohajer drones were reported to monitor the situation.[7] On November 7, 2004, Hezbollah, flew a Mohajer-4 over northern Israel for about 5 minutes. The UAV entered Israeli airspace at more than 100 knots and an altitude of about 1,000 feet, flew briefly over the seaside city of Nahariya, and fell into the sea. Iran sold eight Mohajer-4s to Hezbollah, according to an unnamed Iranian Revolutionary Guards senior officer quoted by London-based Arab daily newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat.[7]

In 2010, US satellite images revealed a Venezuelan facility that is reported to be manufacturing Iranian drones. Later, Venezuela unveiled a drone called SANT Arpía which is identical to Mohajer-2 except that it uses skids to protect the camera during the parachute recovery. This feature was only seen on Mohajer-4. According to some sources, Venezuela signed a $28 million contract to manufacture Mohajer-2 despite sanctions that prohibited Iran from exporting arms.[9][10]

Variants

See also

References

External links

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