Iran Test-Flies Its First Indigenous Jet

Iran has tested its first reportedly domestic-made light attack and training jet, called Kowsar.

The twin engine advanced fighter jet with a Close Air Support (CAS) role successfully made test flights on Tuesday during a ceremony and an exhibition on defense industry capabilities dedicated to Iran’s Day of Defense Industry, in the capital Tehran.

Kowsar was mostly developed by the Iran Aviation Industries Organization and first unveiled in July 2017, when it was shown to an international audience at the MAKS air show in Moscow. The jet will be mass produced in one-seat and two-seat versions, with the latter being made for military and training purposes. The jet is equipped with advanced features such as an indigenous avionic and domestic 4th generation Advanced Firing Control System; multi-function digital displays, ballistic weapon calculator, an advanced HUD system to increase strike precision; and an advanced multifunction fire control radar, to boost the identification of targets and threats.

“All we are trying to do; all we are spending on our country’s defense power is to prevent any war and costly acts of aggression imposed on our country,” President Hassan Rouhani said while addressing the Defense Industry Day ceremony, according to Rouhani’s official website.

“A lack of defensive power means a green light to enemies, and we are all responsible to protect Iranian nation’s security, power and dignity with the lowest price possible,” Rouhani said.

In addition to the plane, Iran’s home-made Bavar 373 missile shield has passed final tests and will be delivered to the armed forces by the end of the Iranian calendar year, which falls on March 20, 2019. 

Meanwhile, some analysts were quick to downplay the Iranian announcement, saying that the jet displayed on Tuesday was in fact a variant of a 1970s-era fighter, the Northrop Grumman F5 Tiger II.

“This appears to be as a part of long-lasting project to enhance Iran’s Air Force,” says Iranian political and economic expert Farhad Daneshvar. “Over the past decades, due to shortcomings in obtaining modern technologies, the country turned to ballistic missiles instead of fighter jets.”

“The Kowsar jet seems to be a new version of F-5 Tiger jets that Iran purchased from the U.S. before the 1979 Islamic Revolution,” Daneshvar told Caspian News. “Apparently, Tehran is making an effort to convey the message that the country is capable of independently developing advanced technologies, despite the U.S. sanctions imposed on Iran.”

The unveiling of Kowsar is not the first time tried to flex its muscles in the air. In November 2013, during the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran unveiled a stealth fighter known as the Qaher F-313. It was never seen again and is believed to have never actually been flown.