Iran starts producing indigenously-built fighter jet
- Tehran says the ‘Kowsar’ is able to carry various weapons and is to be used for short aerial support missions
World
by
Dawood Rehman | Published on November 3, 2018 (Edited November 3, 2018)
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TEHRAN – Iran’s top military officials on Saturday inaugurated the mass production line of a locally designed fighter jet, state television reported.
In a ceremony in the central city of Isfahan, Army Commander Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi and Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami inaugurated the production line of ‘Kowsar’ at Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industries Company, a firm affiliated to the defense ministry’s Aviation Industries Organization, the Tasnim news agency reported.
#Iran launches the production line for its first domestically-made fighter jet known as
#Kowsar in the central city of
#Isfahan
“Soon the needed number of this plane will be produced and put at the service of the Air Force,” Defence Minister Amir Hatami said at a ceremony launching the plane’s production.
Iran unveiled the Kowsar domestic fighter jet in August with President Hassan Rouhani saying Tehran’s military strength was only designed to deter enemies and aimed at creating lasting peace.
State media said the new jet had “advanced avionics” and multipurpose radar, and it was “100-percent indigenously made” for the first time.
Capable of carrying various weapons, the aircraft is used for short aerial support missions.
Some military experts believe the fighter jet is a carbon copy of an F-5 first produced in the United States in the 1960s.
Meanwhile, Iran’s tensions mount with the United States after the reimposition of US sanctions on Tehran.
On Friday, Washington said it will temporarily allow eight importers to keep buying Iranian oil when it re-imposes sanctions on Monday to try to force Iran to curb its nuclear, missile and regional activities.