A recently released video of Iran’s new suicide remotely piloted vehicle called the Ra’ad 85 — aka Thunder 85 — reveals it might be less impressive than originally announced. A few weeks ago, Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan, Commander of the Iranian Army Ground Force, announced the Ra’ad 85 would be a game-changer for Iran’s military. This week, the “mobile bomb-like drone” was revealed in a video to be held together with what looks like packing or duct tape.
I don’t think that’s really going to have the effect they’re hoping for. While Pourdastan promised the drone would come in various sizes suitable for different applications, critics are less concerned about the whole problem after seeing the patch job. [There is a joke about Iran doing a bang-up job here, but it escapes me.]
Obviously, as noted in the article, if these are being sent with the end game of being blown up, there isn’t a pressing need to have them stay together for a long period of time. Of course, you risk having your somewhat amateurish-looking drone hit a little too soon [and also be roundly mocked by the military community.] It definitely doesn’t support the “high-tech” image Iran has been trying to push. But considering other recent announcements include a stealth jet disguised as a clown car, it probably seemed like decent PR. This suicide drone appears to actually exist–albeit in a somewhat unimpressive way–but that’s more than we can say for the “time machine.”
Filed Under: Aerospace + defense