UAV - Hermes skutt ned i Iran

Israeli Hermes Shot Down Near Iranian Nuclear Facility

Hermes 900 Foto: IAF

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is claiming it shot down an Israeli Hermes UAS, near the Natanz nuclear facility, earlier today. The Iranian military force has not offered any further details. Neither has Israeli commented on the claim.

According to the report, the UAS was shot down as it was close to the nuclear fuel enrichment plant the city of Natanz, in Iran’s Isfahan Province.

The Israeli pilotless aircraft which was shot down yesterday was a Hermes-type drone, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh announced on Monday.

“The downed spy drone is Hermes and made in Israel,” General Hajizadeh said on Monday.

He said the operational range of Hermes drones is 800 kilometers, adding that the aircraft can fly 1,600 kilometers by refueling once.

The General said parts of the aircraft have burnt out after it was targeted by the ground-to-air missiles of the IRGC Aerospace Force and after its fuel tank blast, yet “some parts of this drone are intact and we are now analyzing the information and intel of these parts”.

Elaborating on the details of the down Israeli aircraft, the commander further stated that the drone, which is 5.5 meters wide in wings, is equipped with two cameras which can take high-quality photos.

“There was no prior information available about the aircraft and the only one of this type had been downed in Syria, but this one is more advanced,” General Hajizadeh said.

Natanz is close to the middle of Iran, around 350 miles from its east border, and approximately 1,000 miles from Israel.

That a drone could penetrate so far into Iran – and possibly Jordan and Saudia Arabia airspace  without being discovered opens questions about the effectiveness of Iranian air defence systems.

Cyber- and traditional sabotage

The underground facility at Natanz is believed to contain between 7,000 to 16,000 centrifuges which are used for enriching uranium nuclear fuel.

Western powers and Israel believe the plantwas built to create material for nuclear warheads.

The Iranian government denies that it isdeveloping any nuclear weapons, and claims that the uranium fuel from this plantis for use in its domestic nuclear power program.

The Natanz facility was built in secret, until it was revealed in 2002 by Iranian dissident Alireza Jafarzadeh.

Since it became operation, it has been been the target of sabotage attempts. In 2010 the plant’s control systems were infected by the Stuxnet computer virus. Forensic examination of the virus suggested it was created by US and Israeli intelligence agencies.

Iran also claims that after Stuxnet failed to destroy the plant’s centrifuges, saboteurs attempted to blow the centrifuges up using ‘microexplosives’.

World powers and Iran are negotiating a compromise to allow Iran to continue with its nuclear program. Last November, sanctions in Iran were eased in return for the country limiting the amount of uranium it enriches.

Photo: Natanz uranium enrichment facility 155 miles south of Tehran, Iran – Raheb Homavandi/Reuters 

Sources: International Business Times; Haaretz