‘Iran has sent a message!’ Experts on downing of US drone
Tehran (KNA) - Iran’s downing of an advanced US spy drone with a missile last week shows that the Islamic Republic’s air defense capabilities represent a serious challenge to America’s oft-cited military superiority in the skies, experts say.
On Thursday, Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) shot down a US RQ-4A Global Hawk unmanned surveillance drone that had intruded into Iran's southern skies.
Shortly afterwards, Iran provided the map coordinates of the precise spot where the drone had been shot. The US first denied that any of its drones had been hit and acknowledged the shooting down only later. It took the US even more time to produce any map coordinates, alleging that the drone had been targeted in international airspace.
US President Donald Trump then ordered the US military to conduct supposed retaliatory strikes against several positions in Iran but then abruptly called off the attacks.
The IRGC said that it had used the indigenous Khordad 3 air defense system, first unveiled in 2014, to shoot down the sophisticated American drone, which can reach an altitude of up to 18 kilometers.
Source: PressTV