According to a recent report in the EurAsian Times, Iran has revealed the Meraj-532, a suicide drone that can be launched from a car and has a one-way range of 450 km, capable of delivering deadly accurate strikes.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) unveiled the Meraj-532 drone in a video released on April 9, which was subsequently published on state media. The drone is reported to be powered by a piston engine and capable of flying a one-way range of 450 kilometers, based on information available to the public.
According to a report by Iran International, Ali Kouhestani, the head of the Research and Self-Sufficiency Jihad Organization of the IRGC Ground Force, claimed that the Meraj-532 drone has a maximum altitude of 12,000 feet and can fly for three hours after being launched from a vehicle. Kouhestani also stated that the drone has a 50-kilogram warhead, which provides it with exceptional accuracy.
According to Iran International, General Kouhestani mentioned that the Meraj-532 can be quickly and easily assembled and readied for flight, making it a suitable choice for rapid response scenarios. The drone was demonstrated launching from a Toyota pickup truck, leading some military experts on Twitter to compare it to a winged missile launched from a car.
Furthermore, certain military analysts noted that the tail structure of Meraj-532 seemed to have been inspired by Russia’s Lancet drone. Nonetheless, the Iranian drone has the ability to carry a much larger 50-kilogram payload, which can deliver a destructive blow to the intended target.
Kouhestani boasted that Iran’s domestic drone production is making rapid progress and that additional combat, training, and suicide drones will be revealed soon. However, the production of the suicide drone could not be independently verified by Iranian media.
The introduction of the Meraj-532 drone follows the unveiling of the Meraj-521 drone, which is part of the same family and was revealed by Iran several months ago. The Meraj-521 is a small drone classified as a light-class unmanned aerial vehicle, with the capacity to carry a warhead weighing 500, 700, and 1,000 grams.
As per a previous report by EurAsian Times, the Meraj-521 drone has a range of 5 kilometers and bears a striking resemblance to the US-manufactured Switchblade 300 UAS by AeroVironment. It has a maximum hovering capacity of 15 minutes and can be equipped with three types of warheads, weighing between 500 grams to 1 kilogram.
On the other hand, the Meraj-532 drone developed for the IRGC ground forces far surpasses these capabilities, with its ability to carry a 50-kilogram payload and stay in the air for up to 3 hours or 180 minutes.
