Iran making 'advanced' unmanned drones

arrange an ever lasting meeting between them and God

Dey may build `em, but we’ll shoot `em down...
;)
Star Wars: Laser downs drones in test
Jul 21, 2010, : Laser beams have been used for the first time in naval warfare to shoot down aircraft. The weapon, mounted on a warship’s missile, shot down four unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in secret testing carried out off the California coast, the Daily Telegraph has learned.

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In a joint enterprise between US navy and Raytheon Missile Systems the technology has now got to the stage where lasers will be deployed on warships as part of their short-range defence. For the first time a solid state 32 mega watt laser beam of directed energy has been fired from a warship to a distance of over 3km burning into a drone travelling at about 480 kmph.

The laser is mounted on a Phalanx close-in weapon system that has a radar detection system. The targeting system was used in Iraq, to train fire from a Gatling gun onto rockets and mortars raining down on British bases. Raytheon developed the system after buying six off-the-shelf commercial lasers from the car industry and joining them to make a single, powerful beam guided by the Phalanx’s radars. Unlike other tests which have been conducted on aircraft it uses a solid state laser rather than a chemical generated beam.

Mike Booen, vice president of directed energy weapons at Raytheon, said the tests off San Nicolas Island were “a great day for the laser”. “This is more real than Star Wars," he said, speaking at the Farnborough Air Show. “Our lasers destroyed the UAVs lighting them on fire." “This is the first successful shoot down over water. We are now on the path to deliver the first battlefield lasers integrated into real weapons systems," he said.

With drones being used more frequently to spy on or attack fleets in future warfare it is necessary to make defences against them. The laser system, which is mostly situated under the deck, fires an invisible beam that is only seen when it strikes an intruder. The system is also being developed to tackle small boats and potentially anti-ship missiles and will be ready for full military development by 2016. “This will proceed to production because it is solving real problem," Booen said. Raytheon have steadily been developing laser technology for several years developing a land system that can shoot down mortar rounds.

[url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/uk/Star-Wars-Laser-downs-drones-in-test-/articleshow/6198153.cms:
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Nuke-tipped drone would be all Iran needs to attack Israel...
:mad:
Ahmadinejad: Israel too weak to attack
Aug. 22, 2010 — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday Israel is too weak to stand up to Iran.

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The Jerusalem Post reported Ahmadinejad, in an interview with al-Jazeera, as saying, “Israel doesn’t have the courage to do it” — confront Iran over its newly active nuclear reactor — “and I do not think its threat is serious." He also said, “America is not interested in sparking a military confrontation with Iran."

Ahmadinejad’s comments came one day after the Islamic Republic began fueling its nuclear reactor at Bushehr, the Post said. Iran insists its nuclear facilities are for peaceful purposes, but there has been some speculation that Israel would attack them before Iran could use the uranium to build a nuclear weapon.

John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, caused a stir when he said Israel had only days to strike the Bushehr nuclear reactor before it began the fueling process, the Post said, raising the specter of Israel or the United States destroying the facilities. Ahmadinejad predicted in his interview that Arab states in the Persian Gulf would not allow U.S. bases in the region to be used to launch an attack against Iran.

[url=http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/08/22/Ahmadinejad-Israel-too-weak-to-attack/UPI-11151282511615/:
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See also:

Iran Unveils Domestically-Built Drone
22 August 2010 : Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is hailing the country’s first domestically built drone bomber. The unmanned aircraft, unveiled Sunday, is the latest in a series of Iranian announcements of military advances.

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The Iranian military displayed the drone, dubbed the Karrar - or “striker” - at a ceremony attended by top officials. State media say it can carry out long-range attacks up to 1,000 kilometers carrying a 200-kilogram bomb. President Ahmadinejad called the Karrar a symbol of death to Iran’s enemies. But he also argued the drone serves as “a messenger of salvation and dignity for humanity”. The Iranian leader said it is aimed at deterring any act of foreign aggression.

As tensions continue to rise over Iran’s disputed nuclear program, so too have discussions of a possible military action by Israel to disrupt it. Israel has not ruled out a strike, in the face of Iranian officials' repeated vows to destroy what it refers to as the Zionist entity. On Saturday, Iran began loading its long-delayed Bushehr nuclear power plant with fuel. Inspectors with the International Atomic Energy Agency were on hand to witness the launch of the Russian-built reactor.

Tehran says its nuclear program is solely for peaceful, civilian use. But its failure to answer IAEA concerns about its activities and past attempts to conceal nuclear sites have led to four rounds of U.N. sanctions. Western intelligence agencies have given varying estimates of when they think Iran could possibly produce a nuclear weapon, with some giving a timeline of about a year.

[url=http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/Iran-Shows-Off-Unmanned-Long-Range-Bomber-101251954.html:
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