On 23 August, Abu al-Fadl Amawi, speaking on behalf of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, announced Iran has achieved self-sufficiency and “independence” in the field of defense industries.

The member of parliament talked to journalists at the exhibition of scientific and industrial achievements of the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Support.

“This huge amount of scientific achievements indicates an unparalleled opportunity to develop the defense infrastructure,” Abu al-Fadl Amawi stated.

He also stressed that the advances can “also [be] employ[ed] to support other non-military industrial sectors in the country.”

The official praised the defense equipment developed by the Iranian scientists and scholars. And he mainly focused on the equipment used in the field of cyberwarfare and air defense systems, on all ranges.

On 22 August, the commander of the aerospace forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Amir Ali Hajizadeh, also stated that the Islamic Republic has achieved a lot of capabilities and specially praised the field of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), also known as drones.

In a meeting held at the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, the IRGC Brigadier General stated that Iran has grown its capabilities to the degree that it is now exporting UAVs to other countries.

Amir Ali Hajizadeh stressed that Iran “did not have the [military] capabilities that we have now. In the past, we used to import even barbed wire, but now we export drones; Undoubtedly, this has been realized by establishing a relationship between knowledge-based departments, universities and technological experts.”

On 23 August, Deputy Chief of the Iranian Army for Coordination Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari announced that the Islamic Republic will hold country-wide massive drone drills involving various Army units.

The military exercises will start on 24 August and involve more than 150 new advanced UAVs manufactured by the Army and the Defense Ministry in cooperation with local knowledge-based companies.

“This is the first time that a joint drone exercise is conducted at the level of the four forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Army and the country’s joint air defense base,” the military official stated.

He also added that, among other things, the drills aim to measure, test and evaluate the “accuracy and power of weapons … the capabilities of guidance and control systems and the combat capabilities of drones.”

However, Habibollah Sayyari went on to say that the full power of the Iranian Army, “which is carrying out operations in various reconnaissance, surveillance and combat missions,” will not be completely deployed in the drills.