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Air · Multirole aircraft

Fotros

Iranian long-endurance reconnaissance and combat programme recognised in military references; current fleet and production configuration remain unclear.

Role & capabilities

  • Reported long-endurance reconnaissance
  • Reported combat payload role
See profileSee profile
Primary domain
Air
System type
Multirole aircraft
Developer / manufacturer
Iranian defence aviation industry; exact industrial mapping unresolved
Origin / production countries
Iran
Other names
No additional names recorded
Variants / configurations
Not distinguished in reviewed sources
Operators / programme customers
Not identified in reviewed sources

Evidence & current status

The reference reports acceptance, but a current operator-specific delivery and production standard were not resolved. Manufacturer field intentionally avoids an unsupported exact corporate mapping.

Fotros is an Iranian reconnaissance and combat aircraft recognised in the US Defense Intelligence Agency’s 2019 survey of Iranian air systems. The Joint Air Power Competence Centre also includes a dedicated Fotros fact sheet, describing it as accepted for service and publishing a small set of performance figures. These are historical reference statements, not a current operator fleet audit.

The public record reviewed here establishes a named programme more confidently than a settled production specification. Its advertised endurance appears as a wide interval, and a range number alone does not establish a communications radius or a simultaneously achievable payload. The entry preserves those limitations instead of importing dimensions or sensor equipment from a visually similar Iranian aircraft.

Fotros should remain a separate catalogue identity from Shahed-129, Mohajer-10 and Gaza/Shahed-149. Overlapping roles or broadly similar performance claims do not make the programmes interchangeable. The next useful evidence would be a dated operator acceptance document, a manufacturer sheet identifying the exact airframe configuration, or a clear flight-test release. Until such evidence is available, the profile records government recognition and the historic reference values while leaving present production scale, unit allocation and fleet readiness unresolved.

Sourced specifications

Figures apply to the named configuration. Maximum values are not guaranteed operating performance.

SpecificationReported valueContext & source
AirframeNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
Launch / recoveryNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
PropulsionNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
DimensionsNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
MassNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
Endurance16–30 hoursHistorical published interval, configuration unresolved. Source ↗
Range2,000 kmHistorical reference; range definition unspecified. Source ↗
SpeedNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
Altitude7,600 mHistorical reference ceiling. Source ↗
PayloadNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
SensorsNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
Communications / navigationNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗

Publication history

  • — Added in the September 2026 global coverage review, with sources, configuration limits and explicit data gaps.

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Follow the evidence

Source types identify who makes the claim. Programme milestones and supplier statements should be read in context.

  1. DIA — Fotros recognition, Iran Military Power 2019 (opens in a new tab)Government / military source
  2. JAPCC — Fotros fact sheet, printed page 557 (opens in a new tab)Government / military source

Explore the connections

Air · Coverage auditMiddle East

Middle East defence drone coverage audit

6 original research topics reviewed: 0 resolved, 6 partially resolved and 0 still open. The remaining register identifies specific evidence needs.

Reviewed 21 Sept 2026Read