HESA Shahed-129 (Eye-Witness)

Medium-Altitude, Long-Endurance (MALE) Reconnaissance / Light Attack Drone [ 2012 ]

The HESA Shahed-129 reconnaissance Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle was introduced by Iran during 2012 and is in operational service today.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 07/13/2022 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

Image copyright www.MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.

VIEW SPECIFICATIONS [+]

Iranian industry has been actively involved in development of drone aircraft for some time now - reengineering foreign types as well as evolving all-new indigenous designs with mixed levels of success. The HESA Shahed-129 series is a dual-role platform capable of reconnaissance work and attack. It was developed by the Shahed Aviation Industries Research Center of Iran with production handled by HESA (and based in the earlier "Shahed-123" which became a redesignation of the "HESA-100"). It appeared during September 2012, remains in active production and may have been procured by the Syrian government for its long-running civil war campaign begun in 2011. The Shahed-129 was debuted in mid-2012.

Externally, the Shahed-129 seems to mimic the form of foreign types like the Israeli Hermes 450 and British Watchkeeper UAVs and can be assumed to offer similar over-battlefield capabilities. A tubular fuselage is used to house the engine, fuel stores, avionics and reconnaissance-minded mission payload. A "blister" assembly housing the primary optics fit is set under the aircraft, aft of the nose section, offering unobstructed 360-degree views. The wings are shoulder-mounted along the fuselage sides and of a straight design with each supporting a single hardpoint. The hardpoints hold a twin-rail launcher to carry up to two Sadid-1 missiles each - giving the Shahed-129 a four-shot capability. The undercarriage is wheeled though fixed in place during flight (as in the American Predator). The tail is made up of two outward-canted vertical fins and the engine drives a three-bladed unit in a "pusher" configuration at rear. The air scoop is noted under the tail.

In practice, the Shahed-129 relies on a Ground Control Station (GCS) for direct-control flying but can also take on pre-set waypoint travel through autonomous flight. Range is limited by the communications technology in play but enough to provide a useful patrolling capability for the Iranian Army and Navy services. Its dual-role (reconnaissance and attack) design allows for active patrolling of a given area and direct- attack capability from a single platform. Missile attacks can focus on land-based targets (such as vehicles and fortifications) as well as sea-borne ones like enemy patrol ships - the latter crucial for maintaining control over Persian Gulf water routes. These traits are all very conventional for a UAV / UCAV of this class.©MilitaryFactory.com

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Specifications

Service Year

2012

Origin

Iran

Status

ACTIVE
In Active Service.

Crew

0
UNMANNED

Production

100
UNITS

Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company (HESA) / Shahed Aviation Industries Research Center - Iran

(View other Aviaton-Related Manufacturers)

Iran; Russia; Syria

(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)

GROUND ATTACK
Ability to conduct aerial bombing of ground targets by way of (but not limited to) guns, bombs, missiles, rockets, and the like.

INTELLIGENCE-SURVEILLANCE-RECONNAISSANCE
Surveil ground targets / target areas to assess environmental threat levels, enemy strength, or enemy movement.

UNMANNED
Aircraft inherently designed (or later developed) with an unmanned capability to cover a variety of over-battlefield roles.

Length

19.7 ft
(6.00 m)

Width/Span

34.4 ft
(10.50 m)

MTOW

2,183 lb
(990 kg)

(Showcased structural values pertain to the HESA Shahed-129 production variant)

monoplane / mid-mounted / straight

Monoplane
Design utilizes a single primary wing mainplane; this represents the most popular modern mainplane arrangement.

Mid-Mounted
Mainplanes are mounted along the midway point of the sides of the fuselage.

Straight
The planform involves use of basic, straight mainplane members.

(Structural descriptors pertain to the HESA Shahed-129 production variant)

Installed: 1 x Conventional engine driving three-bladed propeller in pusher configuration.

Max Speed

109 mph
(175 kph | 94 kts)

Ceiling

17,995 ft
(5,485 m | 3 mi)

Range

186 mi
(300 km | 162 nm)

Rate-of-Climb

900 ft/min
(274 m/min)

♦ MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the HESA Shahed-129 production variant. Performance specifications showcased above are subject to environmental factors as well as aircraft configuration. Estimates are made when Real Data not available. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)

OPTIONAL:
4 x Air-to-surface missiles held underwing (two missiles per hardpoint).

Supported Types

Graphical image of an aircraft air-to-surface missile

(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)

2
Hardpoints

-

5

-

4

-

Hardpoints Location Key:

X

15

13

11

9

7

5

3

1

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Color Key:

Fuselage Centerline

Fuselage Port/Wingroot

Fuselage Starboard/Wingroot

Wing/Underwing

Wingtip Mount(s)

Internal Bay(s)

Not Used

Shahed-129 - Base Series Designation.

Shahed-123 - Original design on which the Model 129 is based on.

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Images Gallery

1 / 3

Image of the HESA Shahed-129 (Eye-Witness)

Image copyright www.MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.

2 / 3

Image from the United States Department of Defense DIVDS imagery database; Shahed-123.

3 / 3

Image from the United States Department of Defense DIVDS imagery database; Shahed-123.

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