The Raad 85 (Thunder 85) (Also R'ad 85, Ra'ad 85, etc) is an Iranian loitering munition developed in the 2010s. [1] It was designed by the Iranian Army's Research and Self-sufficiency Jihad Organization in cooperation with Qods Aviation [2] for the Iranian Army Ground Force. It is an unmanned "suicide drone" that is remotely guided to its target by a human operator. [3] It is designed to be operated in an electronic warfare environment. [4]
General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan of the Iranian Armed Forces has stated, "This drone is like a mobile bomb, and is capable of destroying fixed and mobile targets." [5]
In 2015, five Ra’ad-85 drones were used to strike an Ahrar Al-Sham military base in Syria’s Idlib province, as part of the Syrian Civil War. [6]
Ceiling: 11000 ft
Top Speed: 250 km/h
Combat radius: 100 km
Avionics: transmitting imagery
[7]