The Shahed 123 is a reverse-engineered version of the

Hermes 450 The Hermes 450 is a medium-sized multi-payload unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) designed by Israeli defence company Elbit Systems, Elbit for tactical long endurance missions. It has an endurance of over 20 hours, with a primary mission of reconnaiss ...

, a reconnaissance drone designed and built by Shahed Aerospace Industries. This

UAV An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous.De Gruyter Handbook of Drone ...

, with its V-shaped tail and aerodynamic design, is an advanced version of the Hesa 100 UAV, which first flew in

Isfahan Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...

in 2005 and entered mass production in 2009. The advanced version of this UAV is called

Shahed 129 The Shahed 129 (, English: "witness"; sometimes S129) is an Iranian single-engine medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) designed by Shahed Aviation Industries for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Th ...

. The Shahed 123 UAV was able to capture images of the US military base in the region for the first time.

Specifications

* No wheels, and a piston engine in the rear; and has an optical assembly under the body. * Range 750 kmIran’s Wide Variety of Unmanned Aerial
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Hermes' Hunt

The

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, is a multi-service primary branch of the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces, Iranian Armed Forces. It was officially established by Ruhollah Khom ...

announced on Sunday, August 24, 2014, that it had shot down an Israeli aircraft with a missile before it entered the Natanz nuclear zone. The downed drone was a "Hermes" type. The Revolutionary Guard Corps announced that some parts of the drone were intact and that they were analyzing its data.

References

{{Reflist Shahed aircraft