Iran shoots down Israeli spy drone near Natanz nuclear facility
PRESSTV (Iran) Sun Aug 24, 2014 2:30PM GMT
http://presstv.com/detail/2014/08/24/376428/irgc-shoots-down-israel-spy-drone/

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has shot down an Israeli spy
drone over the Iranian sky before the unmanned aerial vehicle reached Natanz
nuclear facility.

The IRGC’s Aerospace Force has intercepted and shot down an Israeli spy
drone, the IRGC announced in a statement on Sunday.

It added that the stealth and radar-evading spy drone intended to reach the
nuclear facility in Natanz, but was targeted by a surface-to-air missile
before it reached the area.

“This mischievous act once again reveals the adventurist nature of the
Zionist regime [of Israel] and added another black page to this fake and
warmongering regime’s file which is full of crimes,” the IRGC statement
said.

The statement emphasized that along with other Armed Forces, the IRGC is
fully and strongly prepared to defend the Islamic Republic’s territory and
airspace against any aggression and reserves the right to respond in kind to
such moves.

Iran’s nuclear facilities have always been a regular target for espionage
activities by US and Israeli secret services, which have at times used
drones for this purpose. However, all efforts made to this end have been
successfully thwarted by the Iranian military forces.

On December 4, 2011, the Iranian military’s electronic warfare unit
announced that it had successfully downed the American RQ-170 reconnaissance
and spy drone in the eastern part of Iran with minimal damage.

The RQ-170, an unmanned stealth aircraft designed and developed by the
Lockheed Martin Company, had crossed into Iran’s airspace over the border
with Afghanistan.

The drone was one of America's most advanced spy aircraft and its loss was
considered a major embarrassment for Washington.

SF/SS/SL