Shahed-171 Simorgh

The Shahed 171 Simorgh (sometimes designated S-171, and IRN-170 by the United States government) is an Iranian jet-powered flying-wing unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), produced by Shahed Aviation Industries. Its design derives from the reverse engineering of an American Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel captured by Iran in 2011, modified to carry guided missiles. It is one of two Iranian flying-wing aircraft derived from the RQ-170, together with the Saegheh, a smaller version with which it is frequently confused. The name Simorgh comes from the Middle Persian sēnmurw, a benevolent bird of Persian mythology.

Development

According to the United States government, the company Paravar Pars, linked to Imam Hossein University, took part in the reverse engineering as well as the research, development and production of the Shahed 171. Two examples were under construction in 2014, the year Iran announced that four aircraft would enter service by March 2015. The aircraft was first seen in May 2015, then shown in flight on Iranian television in October 2016. An analysis by Jane's located the aircraft at Kashan air base.

Design

The Simorgh retains the flying-wing configuration of the RQ-170 obtained through reverse engineering. Several variants exist, the details of which remain unknown, one of them modified to fill a UCAV role. One author described the aircraft on display as a crude mock-up made mainly of fibreglass.

Armament

The UCAV variant is armed with four missiles. The aircraft was employed with munitions during the Zolfaghar 99 joint exercise in 2020.

Operational History

The Shahed 171 is operated by the Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Some sources reported that a Shahed 171 was shot down during the Israeli-Syrian incident of February 2018, but the aircraft involved was probably the very similar Saegheh. No export customer is recorded.