Explainer: What makes Iran’s newly-unveiled Mohajer-10 drone key asset?

By Ivan Kesic

On Tuesday, at the Defense Industry Day ceremony in Tehran and in the presence of President Ebrahim Raeisi and senior military officials, a new indigenously-developed unmanned combat aerial vehicle called Mohajer-10 was unveiled.

In addition, the new weapons carried by the Mohajer-10 were also put on display. A video of a successful test flight at an unknown location was also released and published by local media.

In his keynote address at the ceremony, Iran’s Defense Minister Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani enumerated multiple achievements in the country’s defense sector over the past two years.

Speaking about the growing arsenal of drones, Ashtiani said his ministry is seriously pursuing the development of the fifth generation of strategic drones under the country’s drone leap program.

This program also includes the development of artificial intelligence (AI) along with support, electronic warfare, and signal collection missions.

What are the specifications of Mohajer-10?

According to official data from the military, the Mohajer-10 flies at an operational altitude of 24,000 feet (7,300 meters) and has maximum flight endurance with ammunition cargo of 24 hours.

The data suggests it is a medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle. The maximum operating range of 2,000 km covers the whole of Western, Central and South Asia, as well as parts of South-Eastern and Eastern Europe.

The dimensions of the drone have not been disclosed, but according to the available photos and a comparative analysis with similar platforms, it can be concluded that the length is about 8 meters, the wingspan is approximately 16 meters, and the height is about 3 meters.

The Mohajer-10 uses a piston engine with three propellers from an undisclosed manufacturer, apparently similar to the one used on related platforms such as the Shahed-129 and Kaman-22.

But unlike them, it has two lower intakes in addition to the upper one.

The presented flight-tested and ceremonial production models are slightly different, as the former has a fixed, while the latter has a retractable landing gear.

Its speed varies from 210 to 350 km/h, and it has a maximum fuel capacity of 450 liters and carries different kinds of ammunition and bombs weighing up to 300 kg.

Which bombs and missiles Mohajer-10 carries?

The ceremonial model is presented with three missiles on two hardpoints on both wings (six missiles on four hardpoints in total). However, a bottom view reveals that each wing has three hardpoints, and possibly an additional one under the fuselage.

With those seven hardpoints (nine if extended) and a given payload of a maximum of 300 kg, the Mohajer-10 drone can carry various configurations of guided bombs and missiles.

For example, at the ceremony on Tuesday, Mohajer-10 on each wing carried one Qaem glide bomb (20 kg) -- Almas anti-tank missile (11.5 kg) and an Arman-1 glide bomb (35 kg).

In addition to the new Arman-1 which has an operational range of 20 km, the improved Arman-2 (40 kg) was also presented, which has electric propulsion and a much longer range of 100 km.

Both smart bombs are equipped with the GPS/INS guidance system and can be launched from the Mohajer-10. Two other munitions, Qaem and Almas, were already used on the previous Mohajer-6 model.

What are other similar Iranian drones?

The Mohajer-10 matches others in range and payload, since the larger Fotros, as well as the high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) Shahed-149 Gaza, are already in operational use.

In terms of design, dimensions and performance, the mid-wing Mohajer-10 is very similar to the Shahed-129 and Kaman-22, but they have a high-wing configuration and a longer declared range of 3,000 km.

Furthermore, all those other models are produced by the Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company (HESA) or the MSA Institute, while the Mohajer-10 is produced by the Qods Aviation Industry Company.

The Qods Aviation has experience in the production of drones since the 1980s and its successful cost-efficiency philosophy is recognized by customers around the world, including major powers that use its models.

The new model Mohajer-10 is obviously a continuation of the development of the proven earlier model Mohajer-6, which has half the flight time and three times less payload.

The Mohajer-10 is the first model in the Mohajer series to use a SATCOM dome and its greatest lethality lies in the combination of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities with new long-range bombs and missiles.

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