Iran says its drones can gather intelligence, strike targets

A top Iranian general claimed today that its military's had produced aerial drones capable of gathering intelligence and striking at targets. 

"We have made good advances and production is going on at suitable rate," ground forces commander Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan told reporters ahead of the annual Iran
Army Day on April 18.

"These planes would be used for operations as well as surveillance which means they can send us online footage from
faraway distances and can also be armed for striking at
targets," the ISNA news agency quoted the senior commander as
saying.

He also said that Iran was working on producing unmanned helicopters, whose details would be announced later, ISNA reported.

US defence secretary Robert Gates said last month that Iranian drones could "create difficulty" for the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan and can also fall in the hands of terror groups.

In February, Iran opened two production lines for the manufacture of the drones, saying the planes would be capable of carrying out "assaults with high precision."