Iran says it can make copy of captured CIA drone

TEHRAN – The Associated Press

An image grab taken from Iran's state television Al-Alam on December 4, 2012, is said to show US drone that penetrated its airspace over Gulf waters. AFP Photo

A senior Iranian lawmaker says Tehran can now manufacture a copy of an advanced CIA spy drone captured last year.
 
Avaz Heidarpour, who sits on parliament’s national security committee, says experts have reverse-engineered the RQ-170 Sentinel craft and Iran now is capable of launching a production line for the unmanned aircraft.
 
His remarks were posted on the parliament’s website, icana.ir, on Wednesday.
 
Iranian officials frequently announce technological and military breakthroughs, most of which are impossible to confirm independently.
 
Heidarpour’s comment comes two days after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it decoded all data from the drone that went down in December 2011 near Iran’s eastern border with Afghanistan.
 
Last week, the Guard claimed it captured another U.S. drone after it entered Iranian airspace over the Persian Gulf.