Newspaper Report: UAV Built in Germany, Purchased by Iran

According to Lebanese newspaper, the drone that penetrated Israeli airspace almost two weeks ago was not made in Iran, but sold by Germany.

By Annie Lubin - ArutzSheva 7

First Publish: 10/17/2012, 6:26 PM

Downed UAV reported to have been built in Germany, not Iran

Reuters

 

According to a Lebanese newspaper, the drone that penetrated Israeli airspace almost two weeks ago was not manufactured in Iran, as was previously speculated, but rather manufactured in Germany and purchased by Iran.

Al-Jumhuriya reported Wednesday that the UAV was manufactured by Siemens and Bockstiegel, a  German company that had previously been accused of selling Iran defective machinery for its nuclear program, and purchased by a false Iranian company, which was in fact a front for Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

According to previous investigations, the drone was believed to have been manufactured by Iran and launched by Hizbullah, something that was confirmed by a statement made by Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Earlier this week Nasrallah said that Hizbullah's launch of the drone, and its ability to penetrate Israeli airspace, was proof of Iran's superior military capabilities. General Ahmad Vahidi had previously confirmed Nasrallah's statement, saying the aircraft was indeed made in Iran.

The newspaper’s source also reported that Hizbullah possessed a large cache of similar UAV's, adding that the drones were built for information retrieval and are not programmed to attack.
The paper also quoted an unnamed US Department of Defense official who revealed that the UAV was similar to modified model airplanes that can easily be built at home.

Tags: Iran ,Hizbullah ,UAV ,Givat Hamatos