An Iranian home-made drone has successfully conducted its first aerial combat mission involving missile attack on another drone, the commander of Iranian Army’s Air Defense Force said.

“A drone targeted another drone with a missile in an aerial combat (mission) which has been done for the first time in the country and we managed to destroy the targeted drone,” said Brigadier General Alireza Sabahi-Fard on Wednesday.

Sabahi-Fard said the successful operation had been carried out during the ongoing drone drills being held in seven border provinces by four divisions of the Iranian Army.

He described aerial combats between unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as a rare and complicated operation, adding that only a couple of countries in the world have the ability to carry out such mission.

Iran has been the first to show off its capability in this regard, according to the commander.

“We in the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces displayed this potential to the world to declare that we were able to carry out ... one of the most complicated aerial operations in the world while facing the maximum cruel and unjust sanctions (imposed) against the Islamic Iranian nation,” said the general.

Iran has expanded its fleet of home-made UAVs in recent years in a bid to increase its defense capabilities and to boost its military deterrence.

Various divisions of the Iranian Army are now using drones manufactured by the Iranian defense industries for different military operations.