Mohajer-10

Iran's would-be answer to the MQ-9 Reaper — the large reconnaissance-strike top of the long-running Mohajer family, unveiled in 2023 with bold claims of a 2,000 km range, 24-hour endurance and a 300 kg weapons load. The catch, which defines this entry: almost none of those figures has been independently verified, and a propeller-driven piston engine caps how far the ambition can actually reach.

Overview

The Mohajer-10 (مهاجر-۱۰) is the heavy top of Iran's decades-old Mohajer drone family — a medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) reconnaissance-strike UAV that visually mimics the American MQ-9 Reaper. It was unveiled with maximal fanfare on Iran's Defense Industry Day, 22 August 2023, in Tehran with President Raisi present (a prototype reportedly first flew on 10 July 2023 near Isfahan). For BattlePolicy it sits in the under-covered Iran watch and matters as both a capability claim and a proliferation question — Iran's drones have reshaped the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. The essential caveat up front, and it is the whole story here: every performance figure for the Mohajer-10 traces to Iranian state media, and Western analysts stress the claims are untested. Treat the specs below as Iranian claims, not established facts.

Development

The Mohajer-10 is built by Qods Aviation Industries, with the IAIO and the Iranian Army cited as co-builders — and an important correction: it is a product of the Qods/MODAFL line, not HESA, which builds the Shahed and Ababil families (the two are frequently confused). It is the largest evolution of a family that stretches back to the 1980s, scaled up from the combat-proven but much smaller Mohajer-6. Open sources suggest at least five had been built by early 2025. Crucially, it is powered by a Rotax-914 piston engine driving a propeller — not the Reaper's turboprop — which both exposes it to sanctions (the engine is a Western commercial component) and inherently limits the speed, altitude and payload it can achieve.

Design & capabilities

Iran's claimed figures for the Mohajer-10 are a ~2,000 km range, ~24-hour endurance and a ~7,000 m ceiling, with a 300 kg payload (described as twice the Mohajer-6's), a ~210 km/h cruising speed and a 450-litre fuel load. Sensors are said to include electro-optical/infrared and a signals-intelligence/electronic-warfare package, and the drone reportedly carries up to eight precision-guided munitions (Qaem, Almas or Arman) on four hardpoints. (Honest flags: the 300 kg payload is the consensus figure — beware a circulating, erroneous "1,200 kg" claim; endurance claims cluster at 24 hours with one low outlier; and the dimensions are officially unreleased, with image-based estimates conflicting at roughly 6.5-9 m length and 14-18 m wingspan.) The single most important design fact is the piston engine: it makes the Reaper comparison superficial — the Mohajer-10 looks like a Reaper but is powered like a far lighter aircraft, which is why independent analysts doubt the headline numbers.

Variants

No distinct variants are established; the Mohajer-10 is itself the large, top-end member of the broader Mohajer family (which includes the smaller, widely used Mohajer-6). Iran routinely re-roles its drones via payload (ISR sensors vs strike munitions vs SIGINT/EW pods) rather than separate airframes.

Combat record / operational use

None confirmed. There is no independently verified combat use of the Mohajer-10 and no confirmed export. Russia is the obvious customer pitch — and the Mohajer-10 has appeared at a Russian army exhibition — but only the smaller Mohajer-6 and the Shahed/Geran loitering munitions are actually documented in Russian service. As of mid-2026 the Mohajer-10's operational story is a display-and-claim story, not a combat one.

Advantages

• Larger than its predecessors — roughly double the Mohajer-6's payload (claimed), more sensors and weapons.
• Multi-role — ISR, strike and a claimed SIGINT/EW capability in one airframe.
• Domestic and exportable — fits Iran's pattern of cheap, sanction-resilient, widely shared drones.
• Reaper-like reach (claimed) — if the 2,000 km / 24-hour figures held, a genuine long-range capability.

Drawbacks / limitations

• Unverified — every spec is an Iranian state claim; independent analysts (CNA, FDD) call them untested.
• Piston-engine ceiling — propeller/piston power caps speed, altitude and payload; the Reaper comparison is superficial.
• Sanctions-exposed — reliance on a Western commercial engine (Rotax-914) constrains production.
• No combat record — no confirmed operational use or export.

Counterparts

The Mohajer-10's explicit benchmark is the US MQ-9 Reaper, which it imitates in shape but not in propulsion; within Iran's own arsenal it tops the Mohajer-6. More realistically it competes for the same export niche as China's Wing Loong and Turkey's Bayraktar drones — capable-looking, affordable, condition-free systems for buyers outside the US orbit. Its distinction is mostly that it is Iran's biggest and most ambitious drone to date; whether it performs like its peers is unproven.

Outlook

The Mohajer-10 is best read as a statement of Iranian ambition and a proliferation watch-item rather than a demonstrated capability. The questions that matter are verification questions: any independent confirmation of the range/endurance/payload claims, any confirmed combat use, and — most consequentially — any transfer to Russia or other partners that would put it into a real war. Given Iran's record of turning drones into strategic exports, the proliferation angle is the one to watch even while the specifications stay unconfirmed. Logged at low confidence: an Iranian-claim-heavy entry where the honest headline is the verification gap.

Key specifications

Sources

1. Qods Mohajer-10 — Wikipedia
2. Iran unveils Mohajer-10 combat UAV, claiming extended range/payload — Breaking Defense
3. Everything you need to know about Iran's Mohajer-10 drone — Key.Aero
4. Mohajer-10 — GlobalSecurity.org
5. Iran unveils a new combat drone — FDD
6. Iran unveils Mohajer-10 drone capable of flying 24 hours — Iran Watch
7. Military knowledge: Mohajer-10 drone — ISW News
8. Iran unveils the Mohajer-10 combat drone — Army Recognition
9. Iran's Mohajer-10 displayed at a Russian army exhibition — Interesting Engineering
10. Iran builds an advanced Mohajer drone with enhanced range, state media says — Reuters
11. Iran's new drone echoes the Reaper amid US tensions — AP

🔒 The Analyst Section on Mohajer-10 is for BattlePolicy Pro members. Below the line: procurement and contract history, the suppliers and companies behind the system, our head-to-head analyst view of the systems it actually competes with, and the BattlePolicy assessment note. Unlock the full file with BattlePolicy Pro →