Aspahbod
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Karrar (Persian from Arabic كرار for "striker", also nickname of Imam Ali, the Muslim imam after) is an Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle produced for the Military of Iran. According to reports, the UCAV can bomb targets at high speed. It is the first long-range unmanned aerial drone manufactured in Iran. While It was first unveiled during Government Week 2010 in a ceremony attended by President Ahmadinejad, it had been in development since 2003, with a scale model displayed in 2004. [1] It is possibly connected with the Ababil Jet project. It is not however, readily connected to any South African designs as some allege. The two drones bear a skin-deep superficial resemblance, however at 2nd glance the resemblance disappears when the key differences in engine position and wing configuration become apparent. A point that is stated by Denel itself.
Design
The Karrar features an aerodynamic cigarette shaped fuselage with small, swept wings mounted low on the fuselage. At the rear, mounted high on the fuselage is the horizontal tailplane with wingtip fences on either side. Control surfaces are found on the main wing and the horizontal tailplane.
It is powered by a variant of the Toloue turbojet engine. Whether it is the Toloue-4 which powers the Noor cruise missile, with 3.7 kn of thrust, or the throttleable Toloue-5 with 4.4 kn of thrust, is unclear, though it would make much more sense for it to be the latter as Toulue-4 isn't throttleable.
The Karrar is launched via RATO in the same manner as Iran's other UAVs. Recovery is a combination air-bag / parachute system.
Electronic Devices
Due to its long range and lack of optical sensors, some kind of INS/GPS-guided autopilot is a necessity, which the Karrar is reported to have. The system in question is unnamed (unlike the package on the Ababil for instance) but is full-spectrum in the sense that it controls the Karrar all the way from launch all the way through attacking the target and returning for recovery. It's also reported that the Karrar had terrain following capability, which lends at least some credence to the 'stealth' claims; even if the aircraft itself isn't explicitly stealthy.
Armament
As far as armament go, the Karrar can carry either a single mk 82 bomb on a centerline rack, two mk 81 bombs on racks under each wing, and two Kowsar AShMs also under the wing. It has also been reported that they can carry four guided missiles of an unknown type. While it is pure speculation at this point, one possibility, given that they share the same guidance as the Kowsar, is the Sadid-1 which was shown alongside the Shahed 285C at the Kish Air Expo in 2010. At any rate, the maximum external payload appears to hover around 240 kg. Another candidate is in the form of MANPADS-type missiles for the supposed anti-air model.
The scale model displayed in 2004 was carrying decoy pods similar to those carried by the MQM-107 also operated by Iran, indicating it could serve as a reusable target drone in much the same manner.
Variants
While specific variants of the Karrar have not yet materialized, the UCAV appears to be fairly modular, allowing for different loadouts depending on the role. The most commonly seen model is the long-range strike version. There also exists a model with a more aerodynamic nose which some have suggested is a cruise missile. It's a reasonable guess that the anti-shipping model carries some form of radar. Another, air defense / air intercept model is also reported to exist which would indicate that it must carry some form of targeting for any on-board missiles. In these two cases, its possible for the Karrar to operate with 3rd part targeting, but it wouldn't be optimal. Optical surveillance capability is also reported which clearly doesn't exist in the current in the current incarnation, but could easily be swapped in with another payload container.
Supposed cruise missile variant
Under the name "Karrar 110" a VTOL drone [2] is also being considered.
Role
The Karrar was puzzling to many who were expecting a more traditional UCAV design more along the lines of something like the Predator. While the Predator (and others) are designed for loitering close-air support (CAS) over low-intensity battlefields like Iraq where one has air-supremacy, the Karrar is designed to fill the role of battlefield air interdiction (BAI) in an environment where they are unlikely to have air supremacy.
Rather, it's clear the Karrar is intended to function as a kind of low-cost, reusable cruise missile. It's launch configuration is designed to require minimal infrastructure such as an airbase. Like their stock of tactical ballistic missiles (TBMs), the Karrar works to offset the widening disparity in airpower that exists for Iran, giving them some form of reliable offensive power that doesn't depend on their ability to keep the IRIAF flying. It's payload might seem inadequate, it's important to remember they're intended to be used in mass numbers, Vahidi himself specifically mentioned that they would operate like a swarm of poisonous bees.
This is apparent in the physical design of the Karrar itself. First off, it's jet powered which favors speed and power over fuel efficiency. Meanwhile, it's wings are short and aggressively swept, a design ill-suited to long, lazy flights over a battlefield, and it's lack of cameras and focus on an advanced autopilot means that it's not overly designed for a hands-on surveillance role like traditional UCAV designs.
Specifications
Length: 5.5 m (est)
Wingspan: 3.5 m (est)
Height: NA
Empty Weight: NA
MTOW: NA
Maximum Speed:900 km/h
Endurance: NA
Combat Radius: 400 km
Ferry Range: 1000 km
Ceiling: 6-7 km (est)
Powerplant: Toloue-4/5
By Galen Wright
Source: thearkenstone.blogspot.com
