Were Russian Experts Involved In Qaher F-313’s Development

Earlier this week, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad introduced his country’s latest indigenously developed fighter aircraft that can supposedly evade radar detection.

The new jet known as Qaher F-313 or Dominant F-313 is said to be similar to the American F/A-18.

“Qaher is a fully indigenous aircraft designed and built by our aerospace experts. This is a radar-evading plane that can fly at low altitude, carry weapons, engage enemy aircrafts and land at short airstrips,” Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said.

He added that advanced materials were used to manufacture the body of the aircraft, making it Iran’s best stealth plane.

According to various reports, Iran’s indigenous aircraft program relies heavily on international defense conglomerates for equipments that are incorporated into the jets.

According to reports, a single-seat, single-engine fighter with outward canted twin vertical stabilizers was developed by the Aviation department of the Malek Ashtar University and made its maiden flight in 2004 using the Klimov RD-33 engine. Various news reports indicated that Russian experts from both Sukoi and Mikoyan and possibly Yakolev were also involved in its development citing the resemblance to the forward fuselage of the Yak-130.

Meanwhile in 2007, Iran unveiled what it said was its first domestically manufactured fighter jet, called Azarakhsh or Lightning and followed it up (in 2010) with the Saeqeh, or Thunder, derived from Azarakhsh.

The Azarakhsh is Iran’s first domestically produced aircraft with four jets undergoing operational tests and 10 being produced each year. The aircraft’s capabilities and information are still unknown.

The Saeqeh is a single-seat jet fighter, derived from the American Northrop F-5. The Commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force, Brigadier-General Ahmad Mighani, has been quoted as saying that the Saeqeh is up-to-date in terms of aerodynamic balance and in possessing missile and radar systems. Apart from that no additional information on its capabilities are known.

The Shafagh, or twilight, subsonic stealth aircraft project was introduced in 2008. The a single seat or twin seat multi role fighter has seven hard points, three under each wing and one centreline station and can carry a mixed Air-to-Air load or Air-to-Ground weapons.

Reports indicate Iran’s plans to produce three versions—one two-seat trainer/light strike version and two one-seat fighter-bomber versions.

Iranian Aviation Industries Organization currently have plans to manufacture, in cooperation with Russia, 100 advanced Tupolev Tu-214 and Tu-204 airplanes with a capacity of 210 persons each within the next 10 years.

Meanwhile, in 2010, Iran's Defense Ministry announced that it will begin the manufacturing phase of a domestically-built medium-size passenger plane designed to carry up to 150 passengers.