New Stealth Aspirations: Advanced Drone Adopts Distinctive Flying-Wing Airframe

The Shahed-161 is the latest iteration in Iran's rapidly expanding portfolio of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) developed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force, recently showcased at an exhibition in Tehran. What immediately drew international attention to the Shahed-161 is its distinctive "flying wing" design, a configuration that gives it a striking visual similarity to the highly advanced and secretive U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bomber. This tailless, all-wing shape is primarily employed in aviation to maximize aerodynamic efficiency and, crucially, to minimize the drone's radar cross-section (RCS), suggesting an intention to achieve a degree of stealth capability. While certainly a "miniaturized" version compared to the enormous, manned B-2, the choice of this specific low-observable airframe indicates a clear technological aspiration on Iran's part to develop platforms capable of penetrating modern air defense systems for both reconnaissance and strike missions.