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HESA Sofreh Mahi

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Sofreh Mahi
Role Stealth Unmanned combat aerial vehicle
Manufacturer Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company
Status Under Development
Primary user  Iran

Sofreh Mâhi (Persian: سفره ماهی, "Eagle ray") is an Iranian stealth UCAV under development.[1] Little is known about the drone but scaled down mock-ups shown during Iranian Army Day 2010 parade show that it has a flat diamond shape body with twin vertical stabilizers.[2] First reference to the drone was given by Lieutenant Commander of the Iranian Air Force General Aziz Nasirzadeh[3] who reported that the first tests of the drone were finished.

Development

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External images
image icon Some Pictures taken from mock ups in Iranian Army parades
image icon Another view of mock up
image icon The unknown fighter model shown alongside
image icon Mock up
image icon Fighter mock up in Army day 2010
image icon Both mock ups during army day 2010
image icon Sofreh Mahi flight

Iran officially stated that it is working on a stealth UCAV named Sofreh Mahi on 7 Feb. 2010.[3] Iranian officials reported that the drone has a shape similar to the Eagle ray resulting in the drone being called the Sofreh Mahi (the Persian for "Eagle Ray"). The drone is also made out of special materials that absorb radar energy.[3] These two features give it the ability to evade enemy radars.

General Aziz Nasirzadeh, Lieutenant Commander of the Iranian Army Air Force, stated that the UAV 'Sofreh Mahi' has been designed and manufactured for reconnaissance and bombing missions, considering its radar-evading capability.[4]

General Nasirzadeh also announced that once the aircraft passes further tests, and its features and capabilities are completed, the Defense Ministry will begin the production. "Production of the actual size as well as mounting and testing weapons and a number of systems on the aircraft are the next phases before we can start its mass production", Nasirzadeh said.[3]

In February 2011 Iran announced that it is going to build and test a real scale model of the plane, however this is a long process and can take a long time to finish. Nasirzadeh said that "It is just one of Iran's UAV projects and one of our goals is to produce such planes. Because the world is moving towards that direction."[5]

Specifications

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This Iranian bird is about 1.2 meters long and has a wingspan of over 2.22 meters, and uses a combustion engine with a plastic propeller in front of the body to fly; on the other hand, the prototype of the fish-stinging bird has a maximum flight range of about 2,000 meters, a range of about 15 kilometers, a flight duration of 60 minutes, and a speed of about 170 kilometers per hour.[6]

See also

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Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

References

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  1. ^ "IAS Daily Dose: 'Sofreh Mahi': The Radar Evading UAV from Iran". Archived from the original on 2013-12-14. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
  2. ^ "Sofreh Mahi [سفره ماهی] (Eagle Ray) UCAV". Archived from the original on July 23, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ^ a b c d "Fars News Agency :: Iran Successfully Tests 1st Radar-Evading Aircraft". Archived from the original on 2011-06-18. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
  4. ^ "'Sofreh Mahi': The Radar Evading UAV from Iran". Article. IAS 100. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  5. ^ "ساخت نمونه واقعي پهپاد سفره ماهي". 13 February 2011.
  6. ^ پهپادهای خطرناک ایران /«سفره ماهی» اولین پهپاد دلتای بومی با قابلیت بمباران هوایی +تصاویر
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