Tehran, Iran: A senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officer said Friday that air defence production continued throughout the recent war. He said equipment deliveries also increased.
Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting aired the interview from an underground IRGC base. However, the report did not identify the officer.
IRIB displayed aircraft components that the IRGC attributed to US and Israeli platforms. The footage included parts identified as MQ-9 Reaper, Hermes 900, Hermes 450 and F-15E aircraft.
The officer said the IRGC had preserved more than 85% of its production infrastructure. He also claimed that factories increased missile production to meet demand and that the missiles performed effectively during the conflict. Press TV carried the claims without providing production records.
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The officer said a new Iranian air-defence system struck a US F-15E on April 3. He did not disclose the system’s name, model number, missile type or performance data.
However, U.S. Central Command confirmed that an F-15E went down inside Iran on April 2. CENTCOM said US forces rescued both crew members on April 4. Its statement did not identify the cause of the loss.
The IRGC officer also identified an MQ-9 Reaper component by serial number 261. He described the aircraft as 20 metres long and weighing about five tonnes.
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That description differs from US Air Force specifications. They list an 11-metre length, a 20.1-metre wingspan and a 4,760-kilogram maximum takeoff weight.
The broadcast did not provide independently verifiable records for the displayed drone components.
