VECTORDEFENCE DRONE
INTELLIGENCE
INDEPENDENT PERSPECTIVE
THE EVOLVING FIELD GUIDE
Editor

Air · Reconnaissance aircraft

Mohajer-4 / Hodhod

Iranian composite tactical reconnaissance aircraft with a distinct airframe and later Mohajer-4B developments.

Role & capabilities

  • Tactical reconnaissance
  • Video imagery
In service / use documentedIn service / use documented
Primary domain
Air
System type
Reconnaissance aircraft
Developer / manufacturer
Qods Aviation Industries
Origin / production countries
Iran
Other names
Hodhod
Variants / configurations
Mohajer-4 — baseline; Mohajer-4B — revised airframe; separate specification required
Operators / programme customers
Iran — Army and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

Evidence & current status

US government reference provides historical service and configuration evidence. Present inventory and export identities require further operator documentation.

Mohajer-4 is a tactical reconnaissance aircraft developed for Iran’s Army and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The US Army ODIN reference identifies Hodhod as an alternative name and describes service beginning in the late 1990s. Its construction uses composite materials, a box-shaped central fuselage and twin tail booms; detachable major sections support a modular airframe arrangement.

The reference describes a rear-mounted piston engine, skid or parachute recovery and cameras for navigation and surveillance. It also distinguishes the baseline aircraft from subsequent developments. Mohajer-4B has a revised fuselage, wing and tail arrangement, so it should not inherit all baseline dimensions or sensor descriptions automatically.

The profile records the programme as historically used rather than treating its age as evidence of retirement. Conversely, it does not turn historical production estimates into a current operational inventory. Published accounts disagree on some sensor options, including infrared installations, and on the identification of certain exported or recovered aircraft. Those uncertainties make a configuration-specific approach preferable to a single inflated family specification. Hodhod and Mohajer-4B references should retain their date and operator context; the wider Mohajer name alone is not enough to identify this aircraft.

Sourced specifications

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

SpecificationReported valueContext & source
AirframeComposite, twin-boom configurationBaseline description. Source ↗
Launch / recoverySkid or parachute recoveryRecovery options described by ODIN. Source ↗
PropulsionPiston engine with rear propellerBaseline reference. Source ↗
Dimensions3.64 m length; 5.3 m spanBaseline Mohajer-4, ODIN reference. Source ↗
MassNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
EnduranceNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
RangeNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
SpeedNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
AltitudeNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
PayloadNot established in the reviewed public sources.Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗
SensorsNavigation and surveillance cameras; infrared fit unresolvedThe reference explicitly notes disagreement over infrared capability. Source ↗
Communications / navigationPreprogrammed flight with radio updatesODIN reference; current installation not established. Source ↗

Publication history

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

Suggest a correction to this entry →

Follow the evidence

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

  1. US Army ODIN — Mohajer-4/Hodhod reference (opens in a new tab)Government / military source
  2. US Army ODIN — Mohajer family variant distinctions (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