Shahed-171 Simorgh

The Shahed 171 Simorgh, also designated S-171 and referred to by the United States government as IRN-170, is an Iranian jet-powered flying wing unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) produced by Shahed Aviation Industries. Its design is based on an American RQ-170 UAV captured by Iran in 2011. The Paravar Pars Company, associated with Imam Hossein University, was involved in the reverse engineering, research, development, and production of the aircraft.

Two aircraft were under construction as of 2014, and Iran planned to have four in service by March 2015. The UAV was first publicly seen in May 2015 and was shown flying on Iranian television in October 2016. Jane's analysis placed the UAV at Kashan Air Base.

The Simorgh is a reverse-engineered RQ-170. One author described one version of the aircraft as a crude mock-up constructed mostly of fiberglass. While the original RQ-170 is a reconnaissance platform, the Simorgh is modified to operate as a UCAV capable of carrying guided munitions.

The aircraft is operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force. The UAV was used with munitions during the 2020 Joint Exercise Zolfaghar 99. Some sources reported that a Shahed 171 was shot down during the February 2018 Israel–Syria incident, though the downed aircraft was probably the smaller, similar Saegheh.

Main Variants

• UCAV variant: An armed version modified to carry four guided missiles.