Iran’s massive war drill targets replica of Eilat naval base
Iran’s Ababil 5 suicide drones simulated a strike on the Israeli Red Sea naval port in Eilat on Friday, Dec. 30 as part of its massive Zolfaqar 1401 military exercise. Iranian war planners designed for the drill a replica of the targeted base and and also a simulation of an Israeli Sa’ar 6-class corvette.
The Ababil 5 UAV is the latest version of Iran’s kamikaze drone series which went into service last May. Not much is known about its features except its capacity to carry a load of 6 small rockets and its range of 480km.
The IRNA showed images of the new drone taking off from an IRIS Lavan landing ship, hitting the Israel missile vessel and setting it on fire. (See photo). Iran’s chief of staff Maj. Gen, Abdolrahim Mousavi reported on Sunday that two naval squadrons of the army were taking part in the Zolfaqar exercise and practicing innovative methods of warfare.
Iran previously fabricated a model of an Israeli target for the purpose of its military drills last December, when a representation of Israel’s Dimona nuclear center in the Negev was repeatedly battered by Iranian forces during a war game.