Iran's naval drones have new anti-submarine capabilities, according to weekend reports from Iranian news agencies.

Admiral Shahram Irani, commander of the Iranian Navy, told Fars News that the anti-submarine drone can be used in operations requiring a longer-distance striking range, up to a distance of about 620 miles.

"The anti-submarine drone that is available to NDAJA is capable of destroying enemy submarines at long distance ranges."

The reports gave few details about the drone's capabilities, except to confirm that it is capable of carrying the Mark 46 anti-submarine torpedo which can be mounted directly onto the drone.

There are several types of torpedo-launching drones, according to reports, and it is not clear if these drones can carry more than one torpedo at a time.

"We [Iran] have entered the field of surface and subsurface units and the destruction of subsurface units by drones," Irani said.

Iranian news media claimed that the ability to use drones for anti-submarine operations makes Iran unique, as there are only a few countries with that advanced capability.

There have allegedly been no live demonstrations of the anti-submarine capability so far.

The Karrar drone, which was shown in the press images, is based on the U.S.-made Beechcraft MQM107 drone, several of which were acquired by Iran prior to the 1979 Revolution.

The Islamic Republic has reportedly worked to upgrade and expand the capabilities of the drone, with as many as four variations of the Karrar drone, which has e a maximum payload capacity of about 440 pounds.

The Mark 46 torpedo, itself, is based on a U.S. torpedo model of the same name, which has been in service since 1963.

Iran, which has been a significant drone supplier to Russia, following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, is eager to present itself as an innovative drone manufacturer and supplier.

The advent of widespread drone usage in combat situations has allowed smaller, less-developed countries to have an 'outsized' impact on the battlefield.

This article originally appeared on All Arab News and is reposted with permission.