Iran tests home-made stealth fighter

[Pasban]

i'd like to think they're CIA agents with fake iranian accounts, but given the history of iranian extremism, i'm not so sure.

i mean it's easy to point out the CIA agents from other countries, but with iran you're never sure whether they're serious or not.

You are actually quiet correct in this assumption for it is very much true. A lot of people on the Internet are would-be Iranians with a very defined agenda. Many of whom who are Iranians themselves participate and this and also fall victim to such vested interests. You should know about this well as the same is done for China. I personally have much respect for the Chinese as do a lot of Iranians. They are a hardworking people. Look at where China was in 1949 and compare it to where China is today and this despite the fact that many odds were stacked against China as well. Please do not fall victim to anti-Chinese sentiment that may be displayed here as it is improper to paint all Chinese in one way and the same holds true for Iran. The people of Iran may indeed reach great heights but they require much time and determination.

 

[Pasban]

I removed this post

 

[below_freezing]

You are actually quiet correct in this assumption for it is very much true. A lot of people on the Internet are would-be Iranians with a very defined agenda. Many of whom who are Iranians themselves participate and this and also fall victim to such vested interests. You should know about this well as the same is done for China. I personally have much respect for the Chinese as do a lot of Iranians. They are a hardworking people. Look at where China was in 1949 and compare it to where China is today and this despite the fact that many odds were stacked against China as well. Please do not fall victim to anti-Chinese sentiment that may be displayed here as it is improper to paint all Chinese in one way and the same holds true for Iran. The people of Iran may indeed reach great heights but they require much time and determination.

a sane viewpoint in an age of madness. let's just discuss the matter at hand without bashing anyone.

i am quite aware of fake CIA news about all countries. there was an incident where allegedly iranian hackers defaced china's most popular website baidu. later it was tracked down to have originated from the US.

 

[mehrzad]

Are you seriously, seriously comparing the industrial scientific capabilities of Iran and China? I just want to ask you 1 thing:

Can iran make its own MRI machine or electron microscope? Is iran self sufficient in computer controlled milling machines and semiconductors, or even petroleum products? It is laughable to compare Iran to China. Your chemical engineering industry is so backwards it cannot even process your own oil. Come back when you've caught up to Venezuela, don't even talk about China.

Will be there brother don’t worry about it, as I said your have had 60 years for doing it we just around 15 years just see the trend you then can guess where we will be I the next 30 years.
By the way you have good detergents!

 

[below_freezing]

Will be there brother don’t worry about it, as I said your have had 60 years for doing it we just around 15 years just see the trend you then can guess where we will be I the next 30 years.
By the way you have good detergents!

so don't brag then and don't be like the indians that always say "we WILL". like you said who knows what the future is. it's better to say we ARE.

 

[mehrzad]

so don't brag then and don't be like the indians that always say "we WILL". like you said who knows what the future is. it's better to say we ARE.

No body brag about anything for me Pakistanis forum bring others advancements to this forum for just one purpose to patronize it

 

[TOPGUN]

There is not stealthy about this aircraft plzz..

 

[SomeGuy]

 

[Kompromat]

^These can be UAV's but not Stealth fighters.

 

[genetic_nomad]

wow me likey, good for Iran wohoo!!

 

[Pasban]

If the needless bashing can now end.. we can progress with some analysis of the project..

The topic concerns the Sofreh Mahi [سفره ماهی] (Eagle Ray/ Flat Fish) UCAV and the Stealth Aircraft. The pictures posted above show both craft and it is important to note the difference as such. At present, the proposed UCAV is at best only likely to be a scale model rather than an actual UCAV but it isn't very big so it's use military as of right now might be limited. Likely though if it does fly the Iranian (French-based) Tolue-4/5 is the likely power-plant.

I've actually found an interesting comparison for Iran's Stealth model. Before the Neuron UCAV program started in Europe the French had a very active stealth drone program made up of flying sub-scale models designed to test Stealth technology and I believe both of these models Iran has shown off are for similar purposes. More specifically the Dassault Petit Duc bears a striking resemblance to Iran's Diamond shaped model (especially in the tail design). From the pictures posted of the models on the truck I think we can guess the drone has a wingspan or between 2-3 meters which corresponds well to the Petit Duc. Here are the specs of the Petit Duc:

Length- 2.4meters
Wingspan- 2.4meters
Weight- 60kg loaded
Speed- Mach 0.5 Max
Endurance- 150km
Powerplant- 2 x AMT Olympus (45lbs thrust each)





Below is a good example of why the craft was named as such by Iran..

Sofreh Mahi ("سفره ماهی") "Eagle Ray"



This image showcases the two distinct projects


There are issues with using the Tolue-4/5 engines; look at the size of this drone compared to the trailer. The engines appear too small to be the Tolue engine but again we cannot be sure without actual dimensions. However, since we know the Tolue-4 is based on the Micro TR-60, we know it likely has a diameter of .343 meters which means the drone would have to have a wingspan of at least 3 meters.



Building these models would aide Iran in better understand RCS tech and I wonder if that was actually one the biggest reasons they were built to test Iran's stealth technology (at whatever stage Iran is in this regard). But as such the need for all-moving tailplanes on such models isn't very necessary so I wont expect them to be present. The Recon/bomber model I believe we will see fly much sooner than its fighter counterpart simply because it wont need an expensive and complicated flight control system (in the full scale model I mean). The fighter model to me is just that, a model. Iran is likely testing to see if its a stable and practical design by building a subscale model and to test its relative RCS which they can then extrapilate to see how stealthy a full-sized aircraft would be. The technology needed for such a design is still likely several years away but 5th Generation fighters usually take many many years of R&D before even a prototype flies. Just random thoughts...

 

[gubbi]

^These can be UAV's but not Stealth fighters.

That was exactly my first impression. On the first model (the Raptor lookalike), the air intake is above the fuselage. I wonder how it would effectively provide uninterrupted air supply to the engines while carrying our extreme maneuvers - a prerequisite for 5th gen combat aircraft. Secondly the engine exhaust nozzles are covered with the engine casing of the fuselage, so how would thrust vectoring work there? I don't even want to comment on the second model (the triangular one).

Lastly, I seriously doubt that Iran has the advanced technological know how to produce a decent 4th gen fighter (advanced engines, avionics, the bells and whistles). C'mon, the best Iran has done till now is rehash Vietnam era US aircraft and give them fancy Persian names and put them out as "indigenous", and I am talking about the F-5 Tiger. They cant even make (copy) the F-14 Tomcat (last I heard that many aircraft are being cannibalized to keep the few flying).
Thats just what I think. Correct me if I am wrong. Any pros comments on the models?

Anyhow the Persians are doing a damn good job at keeping their aircraft flying in face of such crippling sanctions. If only their leaders could be more pragmatic, but then thats wishful thinking. My heart goes out for the Persians.

 

[SomeGuy]

^These can be UAV's but not Stealth fighters.

I think 1 is meant to be a fighter design and 1 is a UAV design.

 

[Pasban]

That was exactly my first impression. On the first model (the Raptor lookalike), the air intake is above the fuselage. I wonder how it would effectively provide uninterrupted air supply to the engines while carrying our extreme maneuvers - a prerequisite for 5th gen combat aircraft. Secondly the engine exhaust nozzles are covered with the engine casing of the fuselage, so how would thrust vectoring work there? I don't even want to comment on the second model (the triangular one).

Gubbi, these are just scale models and one can expect several alternations. I don't believe the fighter-model is a fully functional model and may just be a large wind tunnel test model but thats just my opinion. I don't think it is intended to be a functional aircraft either rather a testbed for technological improvements. The other model (Diamond-shaped one) looks like it will be designed for Recon or bombing perhaps so extreme maneuverability won't really be a tremendous necessity anyway.

On a side note, here is an example of such a mounted intake (this one much closer to cockpit), the F-107 Super Super Sabre...

Lastly, I seriously doubt that Iran has the advanced technological know how to produce a decent 4th gen fighter (advanced engines, avionics, the bells and whistles). C'mon, the best Iran has done till now is rehash Vietnam era US aircraft and give them fancy Persian names and put them out as "indigenous", and I am talking about the F-5 Tiger. They cant even make (copy) the F-14 Tomcat (last I heard that many aircraft are being cannibalized to keep the few flying).

The most fitting scenario for Iran at present would be a stable platform for 4.5 generation aircraft or a purchased 4.5 generation aircraft. In any case, information on Iran's aerospace abilities is only based on speculation and judgment because Iran purposefully engages in Information Warfare with statements and releases to cause both doubts and alarms. As for the F-5, considering it's paint scheme and the fact that its wings do not have adapters for carrying armaments, I doubt that it is actually intended to serve the IRIAF. Rather, it is being used as a testing ground. I shall post pictures in a more dedicated article of the differences in even those models that have been shown of the aircraft. I don't think Iran has any intention of copying the F-14. I'll post my opinion in regard of this is in a different thread. As for cannibalization, the fleet is smaller than what Iran started with and during the 80s much cannibalization was needed. Since the early 90s Iran has been attempting to manufacture as many components of it as its industrial base allows. Recently, Iran has developed upgrades from them as well.

Anyhow the Persians are doing a damn good job at keeping their aircraft flying in face of such crippling sanctions. If only their leaders could be more pragmatic, but then thats wishful thinking. My heart goes out for the Persians.

This is un-related to the thread but Persians restricts the definition to the Pars only and moreover it is a foreign term (of Greek origin). The preferred terminology is Iran and Iranian. For example, I'm Iranian but not necessarily Persian (I have an Azeri background).

As to the leadership, I believe they are more pragmatic than one assumes considering Iran's defense-related measures within the prisms of it's limitations which are great given that import of dual-use items/technologies is also restricted to Iran. So far the development projects initiated regarding the defense-centered issues are more or less on the mark. Internal policies and as such are a different subject matter altogether from this one.

 

[ptldM3]

Beautiful design indeed but if these prove to be a reality the avionics will lack.