The Iranian Army Ground Force has for the first time utilized a type of suicide drone in the military exercises underway in the country’s south and southeast, a senior army commander announced.

“The (suicide) drone can be used for hitting the aerial and ground targets and can carry out an attack when it identifies a suspicious target,” Commander of the Iranian Army Ground Force Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan told reporters on Friday.

He made the comments on the sidelines of large-scale military war games, now underway across the southeastern and southern Iranian provinces of Sistan and Balouchestan and Hormozgan.

Codenamed “Muhammad Rasulullah” (Muhammad, the messenger of God), the war games began on Thursday with the participation of different Army units and is expected to run until December 31.

The Ground Force’s plan to use suicide drones dates back to September 2013, when Pourdastan said his forces manufactured a new type of advanced suicide drone, dubbed ‘Ra’ad 85’.

“This drone is like a mobile bomb, and is capable of destroying fixed and mobile targets,” the commander said.

Elsewhere in his comments on Friday, the top army officer said the Ground Force employed Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in the ongoing drill in two phases.

In the first step, the drones played the role of enemy aircraft and in the second phase, the pilotless planes flew as the friendly aircraft, he explained.

He also hailed an extension in the range and operational capabilities of the Ground Force drones.

“These drones can carry heavier payloads compared to the past, and the quality of their optical devices has also improved,” the commander added, describing the drones as the “Ground Force’s upper-hand” in the battle field.

The Iranian Army has unveiled and tested its military hardware in the second phase of the major military exercises code-named Mohammad Rasoulollah (Mohammad, the Messenger of God) in the south of the country.

Various units of the Iranian Army’s Ground Forces participated in the maneuvers and different defense systems, including newly-developed ones, were tested in this stage of the maneuvers on Friday.

Iran’s Air Force Cobra combat helicopters were deployed in the drill and backed the Ground Forces units by striking hypothetical enemy targets.

Zolfaghar and Samsam Tanks, both domestically manufactured, were also used in the exercises.

Newly-developed Iranian tank carriers were also used in the drills and facilitated the rapid transfer of the tanks.

Dehlavieh and Toofan anti-tank missile systems were also successfully tested by the Ground Forces in the exercises, with the latter fired by helicopters as well.

The Iranian army also tested Shaher and Akhgar sniper rifles and Moharram Gatling gun.

The Ground Forces also tested its drones including Shahin in the exercises which conducted reconnaissance and data collection operations.

Phantom fighter jets and other units of the Airborne Division of the Iranian Army’s Ground Forces were also used in the drills.

A mine-laying vehicle was also unveiled during the maneuvers as a new achievement. The vehicle has the capability to mine a large area in a short period of time.

During the first stage of the six-day military drill on Thursday, different ground units, fighter jets and air defense systems were stationed in the southeastern part of the country. Various marine, surface, and subsurface vessels were also deployed in the Sea of Oman.

The exercises cover an area of 2.2 million square kilometers stretching from the east of the Strait of Hormuz all the way to the 10th parallel north in the Indian Ocean.

The joint drills by Iranian Army’s ground, naval, and air forces are backed by Khatam al-Anbia Air Defense Base.

Different types of military hardware and weapons are deployed both in the water and on land during the drill, which is the largest of its kind in the region.