The Iranian Gaza drone: a new strike and reconnaissance drone in action

Gaza

Iran has demonstrated in action its new Shahed-149 unmanned aerial vehicle, named Gaza in solidarity with the struggle of the Palestinians in the Arab-Israeli conflict. This is a high-altitude drone with a long flight duration, which has reconnaissance and strike capabilities.

The new unmanned vehicle was used during the Great Prophet exercises of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as well as the Basij People's militia. These exercises, which started in Kermanshah province, took place in various regions of Iran and in the waters of the Persian Gulf.

The appearance of the drone raises reasonable speculation that Iranian engineers were inspired by the design of the American Reaper drone. The Iranian aircraft is also built according to a normal aerodynamic scheme, with a mid-mounted straight wing of large elongation and a V-shaped tail. The wingspan is 21 meters. The maximum take—off weight is 3,100 kg, which is about a third less than that of the American counterpart. A three-column retractable wheeled landing gear with a nose rack is used for take-off and landing.

In the tail section of the drone there is a turboprop engine driving a pushing four-bladed propeller, probably of the order of 650-750 hp. It provides a maximum flight speed of about 350 km/ h. The choice of the power plant is obviously conditioned by the need to ensure a number of target characteristics, including high load capacity and significant altitude characteristics. It was reported that the unmanned aircraft can fly at altitudes up to 10,500 meters.

The maximum flight duration can reach 35 hours, and the claimed range when using a satellite communication channel is at the level of 2000 km.

It is not entirely clear whether Iran has the ability to use its own satellite communication systems for this. Most of the communication satellite devices used by Iran are either outdated or experimental models with limited performance. However, it is known that the country is implementing a program to create a satellite constellation, including devices for various purposes, so that in the future the possibilities of space communications here are likely to be realized. In the meantime, Iranians can use satellite channels from other countries, such as China.

According to representatives of the Iranian defense industry, Gaza is capable of carrying up to 500 kg of payload, both reconnaissance and strike. As for the reconnaissance equipment, it may include a gyrostabilized multichannel optoelectronic surveillance system with a laser designator. It can be noted that the external dimensions of the GES, which was previously repeatedly shown on this device, suggest the use of a product previously installed on smaller devices, for example, Shaded-129. Most likely, this is a temporary solution, and in the future the drone will receive a more advanced system.

Gaza may also have other aviation weapons created in Iran. For example, the model exhibited at last year's DIMDEX exhibition, in addition to the mentioned Sadid-345 ammunition, also carried two ammunition of a larger caliber. Perhaps this is some kind of Iranian version of the American Paveway II precision-guided bomb (included, in particular, in the onboard armament of the Reaper drone). And, of course, in the case of exporting a drone, other weapons can be placed on it, in accordance with the capabilities of the platform and the interests of the customer.