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The only project that had actual potential and now even that is dead. A 15000KN jet engine for that aircraft means it is ridiculously underpowered. All things considered, keeping some ally on board would have helped, the airframe at least has great potential but then again, things in Iran arent focused on practicality.

It can cruise at 740 Km/hr. It is more than enough for ground attack and training. It is not a dogfight jet fighter.

Furthermore, I think whoever has outlined Iran's defence strategy has been very wise and practical. Currently the ultimate short term goal for Iran is to build credible deterrence in shortest time possible. Not against its neighbors but against Israel and USA. It is not worth spending time and money on developing jet fighters while it is a no brainer that nothing that Iran can build at this stage would stand a chance against strongest air force in the world. Iran has built enough deterrence against Naval threats in the Persian Gulf and has enough arsenal of ballistic missiles to make Israel think twice before attempting anything stupid. Now it is working on its early warning and air defence systems to increase the potential cost of any air raids. And it is doing it in the fastest and most practical way possible i.e. upgrading or adding to what it already has while developing new systems at the same time.

Following all of the news about Iran for the past 6 years I'm confident that it is only because of the above strategy that today there is a real negotiation happening with 5+1. Otherwise, they had either invaded Iran or bombed our facilities long ago.
 
It can cruise at 740 Km/hr. It is more than enough for ground attack and training. It is not a dogfight jet fighter.

Furthermore, I think whoever has outlined Iran's defence strategy has been very wise and practical. Currently the ultimate short term goal for Iran is to build credible deterrence in shortest time possible. Not against its neighbors but against Israel and USA. It is not worth spending time and money on developing jet fighters while it is a no brainer that nothing that Iran can build at this stage would stand a chance against strongest air force in the world. Iran has built enough deterrence against Naval threats in the Persian Gulf and has enough arsenal of ballistic missiles to make Israel think twice before attempting anything stupid. Now it is working on its early warning and air defence systems to increase the potential cost of any air raids. And it is doing it in the fastest and most practical way possible i.e. upgrading or adding to what it already has while developing new systems at the same time.

Following all of the news about Iran for the past 6 years I'm confident that it is only because of the above strategy that today there is a real negotiation happening with 5+1. Otherwise, they had either invaded Iran or bombed our facilities long ago.

As I stated, the airframe itself has all the potential to be a light interceptor as well, but without a suitable powerplant it is limited to ground attack by having no other choice.

Progress is pointless when the focus is on fantasy projects such as the Qaher or trying to come up with a reverse engineered RQ-180. What is needed is focus on practical projects lie the Shafagh was and yet it seems this has been stalled as well. The IRIAF is in dire need of new platforms to replace its outdated and aging fleet. Ballistic missiles create the potential for either negotiations or the justification of an all out campaign to bomb and destroy the Iranian military via the failure of those negotiations.
 
As I stated, the airframe itself has all the potential to be a light interceptor as well, but without a suitable powerplant it is limited to ground attack by having no other choice.

Progress is pointless when the focus is on fantasy projects such as the Qaher or trying to come up with a reverse engineered RQ-180. What is needed is focus on practical projects lie the Shafagh was and yet it seems this has been stalled as well. The IRIAF is in dire need of new platforms to replace its outdated and aging fleet. Ballistic missiles create the potential for either negotiations or the justification of an all out campaign to bomb and destroy the Iranian military via the failure of those negotiations.

Yeah, it would be great to have everything at the same time but the reality is the resources are limited so you need to stick with your strategy and prioritize.

Why do you think Qaher is a fantasy project? That was again a mock up of a project in progress. I have reasons to believe it is an extension of Iran's defence doctrine. Drones are also cheap and practical solution to make up for conventional air force weaknesses for light ground attack and surveillance. They also make a great test bed for manned aircraft. Even USA uses drones for these purposes.

As long as you don't want to invade anyone, Air force will get the last priority. As it is expensive and you should either be able to do it better then your opponent or you are just wasting your time.
 
As I stated, the airframe itself has all the potential to be a light interceptor as well, but without a suitable powerplant it is limited to ground attack by having no other choice.

Progress is pointless when the focus is on fantasy projects such as the Qaher or trying to come up with a reverse engineered RQ-180. What is needed is focus on practical projects lie the Shafagh was and yet it seems this has been stalled as well. The IRIAF is in dire need of new platforms to replace its outdated and aging fleet. Ballistic missiles create the potential for either negotiations or the justification of an all out campaign to bomb and destroy the Iranian military via the failure of those negotiations.

It's not that easy, we would be more than happy if we could buy a batch of Su-34s or Mig-31s too, but that's not going to happen.

IRIAF itself is doing best thing it can: Upgrading current aircrafts and developing new arms for them, also producing modified version of F-5, aka Saeghe with improved avionics, arms etc, that's the best we can do for now. It's not like we can go out there and select from a variety of fancy aircraft. As far as I know, Iran is working hard to build a well capable Turbofan engine (and it's going well it seems) and since engine is now our main problem, it's going to solve most of the problems, We already produce J-85 engines that are used in F-5s and Saeghe, but it's not a capable engine as you know.

Also, right now, Iran is extremely focused on improving its air defense systems, navy and missile program since they are the easier way to have a detterance. Just in a very few years, I assure you, Iran will have the best air defense system in the region with advantage that all of them are produced inside the country, so we won't have to rely on any foreign country for them.
 
New-Iranian-jet.jpg

Yes, the aspect ratio is off in this picture!

Looks nice, a bit compacted, but a serviceable platform none the less. Still, it would be very problematic to takeoff with that center-line tank. It's a doable project. Not overly ambitious and well within Iran's capabilities. I like it. Hope to see this project actually pan out and enter into service.
 
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Looks nice, a bit compacted, but a serviceable platform none the less. Still, it would be very problematic to takeoff with that center-line tank. I like it. Hope to see this project actually pan out and enter into service.

I think the aspect ratio of the picture is not correct. It should be a little longer than what it seems in the picture.
 
As far as I know, Iran is working hard to build a well capable Turbofan engine (and it's going well it seems) and since engine is now our main problem, it's going to solve most of the problems.
Also, right now, Iran is extremely focused on improving its air defense systems, navy and missile program since they are the easier way to have a detterance. Just in a very few years, I assure you, Iran will have the best air defense system in the region with advantage that all of them are produced inside the country, so we won't have to rely on any foreign country for them.

Trying to develop an indigenous Turbo Fan engine, IMO, will be a naive and unrealistic goal. IF money is not the problem then this is the perfect time for Iran to get anything from Russia. Russia is being cornered by west and they wont mind selling anything RIGHT NOW.

If money is a problem then indeed the priority should be on Air defence, Ballistic and Anti shipping missiles. But for Israeli threat you definitely need a Su30 type of plane with long range, large payload and decent range radar to deter any Israeli strike.
 
Iranian Phantom jet strikes the Islamic State in Iraq - IHS Jane's 360

An Iranian McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II jet has struck Islamic State targets in the eastern Iraqi province of Diyala, footage shot by regional media shows.

At least one F-4 is seen conducting a bombing run against ground targets in the footage shot by Al Jazeera , which erroneously identified the aircraft as an Iraqi fighter. Iran and Turkey are the only regional operators of the F-4, and the location of the incident not far from the Iranian border, and Turkey's unwillingness to get involved in the conflict militarily, indicate this to be an Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) aircraft.

While the IRIAF is known to have contributed Sukhoi Su-25 'Frogfoot' ground attack aircraft to the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq (ostensibly donated to the Iraqi Air Force, but believed to be crewed by Iranian pilots), this footage is the first visual evidence of direct IRIAF involvement in the conflict.

The Al Jazeera footage, which was shot on 30 November, shows the IRIAF F-4 supporting Iraqi forces retaking the town of Sa'adiya in what was purported to be the government's largest operation against the Islamic State since June. Its release comes weeks after IHS Jane's reported growing evidence of Iranian involvement in the war in Iraq.

Video footage and photographs shown on social media sites have increasingly been showing Iranian military hardware in the hands of Shia militias fighting in Iraq. This hardware includes the 12.7 mm AM-50 anti-materiel rifle, at least one Iranian-made Safir jeep mounted with a 107 mm multiple rocket launcher (MRL), as well as an Iranian 122 mm HM 20 MRL.

COMMENT
While the US-led effort to combat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has been widely publicised by the Department of Defense (DoD) and its coalition allies, Iran's involvement has been altogether more opaque.

Iran was the first country to pledge and deliver military support to Iraq when the Islamic State began its offensive earlier in the year. At the time that the first IRIAF Su-25s arrived over Baghdad in late June, there was much speculation that Iran and the United States may come together in some form of joint operation against the Islamic State. However, the recent détente between the two countries is still in its very early stages, and neither side much relished the prospect of military co-operation to such a degree.

As such, there appear to be two parallel military campaigns being waged against the Islamic State, with the United States and its allies conducting their air campaign over Iraq and Syria, and Iran pursuing its own military agenda in Iraq at the same time. So far, this dual approach does appear to be working (at least in terms of de-conflicting the two military campaigns), but should they happen to cross paths over the coming weeks and months it would no doubt muddy still further an already complicated conflict.
 
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