Role & capabilities
- Reported reconnaissance and combat family
- Primary domain
- Air
- System type
- Multirole aircraft
- Developer / manufacturer
- Shahed Aviation Industries Research Center
- Origin / production countries
- Iran
- Other names
- Saegheh — flying-wing programme spelling
- Variants / configurations
- Saeqeh — named IRGC flying-wing aircraft; IRN-170 variants — DIA family designation; exact model mapping unresolved
- Operators / programme customers
- Not identified in reviewed sources
Evidence & current status
Family identity is established; do not turn IRN-170, Simorgh, Saeqeh, Shahed-171 and Shahed-191 into unqualified interchangeable aliases.
Saeqeh is a named Iranian flying-wing combat aircraft associated with the programme derived from the captured US RQ-170. Iranian state reporting records an IRGC unveiling on 1 October 2016 and describes Saeqeh within a Simorgh-class grouping. The US Defense Intelligence Agency separately recognises IRN-170 variants in its 2019 Iranian aircraft table. Those references establish a programme family, but they do not provide a reliable one-to-one dictionary for every later designation.
The Joint Air Power Competence Centre attributes Saeqeh to Shahed Aviation Industries. Its summary is a historical military reference, not evidence that every publicly displayed variant shares one engine, size or payload. This entry therefore groups the programme cautiously and leaves variant-specific performance unresolved.
The similarly transliterated Saeghe 2 in the older Qods product catalogue is a separate aerial target system. Its dimensions and performance must not be transferred to this flying-wing family. The Simorgh name also needs context rather than indiscriminate alias matching. A precise catalogue should distinguish programme lineage, individual airframe designation and operator configuration. Current service numbers and the exact relationship between Iranian numbered variants require further model-specific primary evidence before this family should be split into additional profiles.
Sourced specifications
Figures apply to the named configuration. Maximum values are not guaranteed operating performance.
| Specification | Reported value | Context & source |
|---|---|---|
| Airframe | Flying-wing programme associated with RQ-170 lineage | Iranian programme account; not equivalent to the US aircraft. Source ↗ |
| Launch / recovery | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Propulsion | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Dimensions | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Mass | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Endurance | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Range | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Speed | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Altitude | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Payload | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Sensors | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Communications / navigation | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
Documented milestones
Saeqeh unveiled
IRGC unveiling date recorded by Iranian state reporting.
Read the announcement ↗
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.
- Press TV — IRGC account identifying the 2016 Saeqeh unveiling (opens in a new tab)State media reporting official programme statement
- DIA — IRN-170 variants, Iran Military Power 2019 recognition table (opens in a new tab)Government / military source
- JAPCC — Saeqeh fact sheet, printed page 561 (opens in a new tab)Government / military source
- Qods catalogue — distinguishes the separate Saeghe 2 target system (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer / programme source