Iran’s Jet-Powered “Karrar” Drone Equipped with “Majid” Air-to-Air Guided Missiles

(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) — Iran has announced that it has successfully equipped a powerful jet-powered interceptor drone called “Karrar” with a locally-made air-to-air guided missiles, making it another asset in the country’s air defense.

 There aren’t many drones on the market capable of carrying air-to-air guided missiles to shoot down airborne targets.

As stated by the Chief of Iran’s Air Defense Unit, Brigadier General Alireza Sabahifard, the air-to-air guided missile “Majid” adapted for use with Iran’s “Karrar” drone can engage targets at distances ranging from 8km to 16km.

 Equipped with a special warhead, the heat-seeking “Majid” air-to-air guided missile has the capability to take down various types of airborne targets, including drones, fighter aircraft, and helicopters.

The success of adapting the “Majid” air-to-air guided missile to the “Karrar” drone is the result of two years of research and development, which involved modifying the “Majid” guided missile from a surface-to-air missile into an air-to-air missile.

 

Iran designed the powerful “Karrar” drone for the purpose of neutralizing airborne targets.

According to Iranian media reports, the “Majid” air-to-air guided missile integrated with the jet-powered “Karrar” drone is equipped with a special explosive to enable it to destroy various airborne targets.

 Iran first revealed the existence of the long-range jet-powered “Karrar” drone in 2010, and there are reports suggesting that Iran has “exported” the “Karrar” drone to several armed groups sympathetic to it in the region, including Hezbollah.

Capable of flying up to 1,000km, it is also Iran’s first drone to successfully operate at an altitude of 47,000 feet.

In addition to the “Majid” air-to-air guided missile, the “Karrar” jet-powered drone is also capable of carrying two 115kg bombs each and a 227kg precision-guided munition.

 

Previously, the Iranian military used the “Karrar” jet-powered drone as a “warning” drone to foreign aircraft near its territorial waters and Flight Information Region (FIR).

In 2021, during a military exercise, Iran demonstrated how the “Karrar” jet-powered drone engaged airborne targets using domestically-produced “Azarakhsh” air-to-air guided missiles.

The targets engaged by the “Karrar” drone had the capability to fly at high altitudes and had a very low Radar Cross Section (RCS), demonstrating the drone’s ability to fly at high altitudes and detect targets that were nearly invisible.

There are also reports that Iran has exported the “Karrar” jet-powered drone to Lebanon since 2014, and there is a possibility that this powerful drone will be used by Hezbollah fighters to counter Israeli military incursions in the near future. – DSA

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