A bird‑like UAV was spotted by Iranian locals over the airspace, pointing out to concealment attempts against identification for reconnaissance operations.
An unidentified UAV with large wings, presumably imitating a large bird species, was recorded by an Iranian local.
A UAV of a similar approach was seen to be employed by Russia against Ukraine, as the Ukrainian personnel recovered it. The UAV used by Russia adopted a wing and tail design to imitate the look of a bird while using a pair of propellers.
Imitating the looks of a bird can lower suspicion even if the UAV is detected, which degrades the identification. However, the presence of propellers limits this perceptional ‘stealth’ if seen from a closer distance, as the front-mounted propeller can be clearly seen from the video.
Adoption of such tactics shows that there are covert scouting attempts against military targets close to civilian areas in Iran, to relay target coordinates for long-range effectors like cruise missiles or artillery.
Author: Kaan Azman
Editor:Özgür Ekşi
