Posted on 09/21/2008 7:15:12 AM PDT by Strategy
WASHINGTON -- The United States has targeted Iran's leading manufacturer of surveillance and combat unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
The U.S. Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on the Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Co. Treasury said the company, known by its Iranian acronym, HESA, was a key contractor to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and supplying the Ababil UAV.
"The IRGC utilizes the Ababil UAV, manufactured by HESA," Treasury said on Sept. 17. "HESA produces different variants of the Ababil UAV, which can be used for surveillance and attack."
Officials said HESA, owned by the Defense Ministry, has exported Ababil. They said a leading customer was Hizbullah, which deployed Ababil in the 2006 war with Israel.
"HESA utilizes its own facilities for the inspection, maintenance, repair overhaul research, development, and manufacture of military and civilian aircraft and related military logistic systems," Treasury said. "HESA conducts research on, development of, production of, and flight operations for UAVs in Iran."
(Excerpt) Read more at worldtribune.com ...
And if this doesn’t work, a terse memo will follow.
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