Ιρανικό βομβαρδιστικό UAV μέσω.... Νότιας Αφρικής

Iran UAV bomber via South Africa?

By

Stephen Trimble

 

The Kerrar UAV unveiled by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad bears a striking (no pun intended) resemblance to the South African Skua target drone. Flightglobal's Tel Aviv-based correspondent Arie Egozi is reporting that Israeli officials believe the basic design is based on the Skua, with the engine moved to the top of the fuselage and the wing straightened. If true, it will be interesting to find out how the Skua technology matriculated from Cape Town to Tehran, especially given the strong links between the Israeli and South African defense industries. A four-year-old article on Flightglobal, however, may provide a clue. The article says have Skua manufacturer Denel's three export customers for the target drone have "also recently taken to offering use of their Skua systems to third nations as the basis of a training services business".

See photos of Kerrar (top) and Skua (bottom) below.