Exclusive: Inside IS Terror Weapons Lab

Terror group Islamic State is employing scientists and weapons experts to train jihadists to carry out sophisticated "spectacular" attacks in Europe, while also modifying weapons systems capable of targeting passenger jets and military aircraft.

From a "jihadi university" in the Syrian city of Raqqa, the scientists have stunned western weapons experts by producing a homemade thermal battery for surface-to-air missiles.

It had been regarded as a virtually impossible feat for terror groups working without a military infrastructure.

Mannequins fitted with thermostats aim to evade car bomb security scanners

But footage exclusively obtained by Sky News shows that IS can now recommission thousands of missiles assumed by western governments to have been redundant through old age.

Heat-seeking warheads can be used to attack passenger and military aircraft. They are 99% accurate once locked on.

Play video "'Jihadi University' Builds Missiles"

Video: 'Jihadi University' Builds Missiles

For decades terror groups, including the IRA, had these weapons but storing them and maintaining the thermal battery - a key component to the warhead - was very difficult.

It seems that IS scientists have got round the problem, and that revelation will shock the world of international security.

The IS research and development team has produced fully working remote controlled cars to act as mobile bombs, while they have fitted the cars with "drivers"; mannequins with self-regulating thermostats to produce the heat signature of humans, allowing the car bombs to evade sophisticated scanning machines that protect military and government buildings in the West.

The group trained fighters from a variety of countries to carry out attacks and to train more jihadists in their own countries.

An IS trainer with more than eight hours of unedited training videos was captured by the remnants of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) as he headed north through Turkey towards Europe.

The FSA passed the material to Sky News but was not aware of the importance of the videos, described by a weapons advisor to the British military as an intelligence "gold mine".

Using aerial and satellite imagery Sky News has identified the location of the "university" and pieced together the apparently random collection of video files to reveal the true extent of IS's sophisticated development and training team.

Although this type of activity had been widely suspected by western intelligence services, this is the first concrete evidence that it is taking place.

Crucially, it is far more developedthan had previously been thought possible.

Groups of trainees from a range of countries including Syria, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Tunisia, Egypt and Pakistan were given terror training courses using science labs and facilities based around the former Equestrian Centre in Raqqa.

The extensive collection of videos shows the men being trained to adapt the electronic parts of scrap cars to make the remote controlled cars work using sophisticated un-jammable radio sets; and long lessons on how to configure the mannequins to appear like human drivers.

Play video "Islamic State's Driverless Car Bomb"

Video: Islamic State's Driverless Car Bomb

Some of the trainers and designers make no effort to disguise themselves but the "students" remain largely concealed.

While it is clear that all those involved have a clear idea what their objective is, at no point do they reveal the nature of their intended targets.

Security analysts believe it is an indicator that they are trying to preserve their own operational security while accepting that they need to train and circulate the videos to followers abroad.

Major Chris Hunter, a former bomb technician in the special forces and advisor to the British military, said he was shocked at some of the developments revealed in the videos.

He said: "I think this is one of the most significant intelligence finds in terms of Daesh.