IRAN's New Fighter

[L J R]

Anyone got pictures?

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,22455835-5003402,00.html

[Razor61]

Propaganda at it's best there i think.
The new fighter they say is similar to the F-18 but more powerful and capable.
Yet, all they have done is took an F-5 Tiger and put two tailplanes on it.
It is basically that!
Heres a picture:-
http://op-for.com/2006/09/irans_new_fighter.html

[airborne_artist]

http://www.irandefence.net/showthread.php?t=3780

The posts about the aircraft are over a year old, though?

http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/7861/5850615l600cu2.jpg

[BEagle]

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a341/nw969/Saegheh.jpg

Google Image for 'Saegheh'.....

[Saintsman]

That aircraft doesn't look expensive, so say they can buy 5 of those for the price of a Typhoon.

Therefore, if we had an 'incident' who would come out on top?

5 v 1 or 10 v 2 etc

[Boldface]

They could probably afford 50 for the price of a single F-22. Doesn't mean to say they would get a shot off mind!

[D-IFF_ident]

Or possibly, how many F-22s against how many Iranians? Rumor (sic) has it that the F-22 pilots prefer at least 8 legacy fighters against 2 Raptors, "otherwise it's boring".

:}

[Gainesy]

Short legs, crappy radar, small payload.

And from what I saw of the Iranian F-4s at Akrotiri, crap pilots. (Even the 70Sqn Argosy bounced 'em).

[Green Flash]

least 8 legacy fighters against 2 Raptors, "otherwise it's boring".
The rumor I heard was 8 v 1:eek:

Didn't I see a pic in a recent AFM of another reverse spannered F5 with mid set wings and single fin?

[TEEEJ]

The twin-finned F-5 variant images were released a couple of years ago. The most recent image released a few months back was of a mid-winged F-5 variant. On this one they must have put the undercarriage in the fuselage. Either that it or it has very long struts!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/74/Azarakhsh_fighter.jpg

[JT Eagle]

If they can do this with their old Tomcats:

Iran Increases F14 Traveling Distance

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran's air force said that his troops have succeeded in increasing the traveling distance of the US F14 fighter jets to 14,000 miles.


Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a ceremony to celebrate the successful flight of its domestically-built fighter jets in Mehrabad airport on Thursday, General Ahmad Mighani also underlined, "Iran is capable of crushing enemy attacks at any time. And this is no complement."

Meantime, he viewed West's threats against his country as a part of psychological warfare, and said, "Westerners' threats are nothing beyond psychological warfare as they are well informed of Iran's high potentials and power."

Iran on Thursday successfully tested two more domestically-built fighter jets from its Azarakhsh (Lightning) generation and the new planes, named Saeqeh (Thunderbolt), will be displayed to the public during a military parade on National Army Day on Saturday.

The Islamic Republic celebrated the start of official flights by its home-made fighter jets during a ceremony attended by a number of officials and commanders, including the defense minister, at Tehran's Mehrabad Airport.

Saeqeh, a joint product of the Iranian air force and defense ministry, has been described as similar to the American F-18 fighter jet.

Last month, Iran showed off for the first time a new fighter jet said to be modeled on the American F-5 but built using domestic technology.

The Azarakhsh jet - one of the first home-produced military planes by Iran - made a successful flight in the central city of Isfahan in a ceremony attended by Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar and other officials last month.

The development of the plane was first announced in September last year, when military officials said that it was "comparable" to the US F-5 fighter jet.

Following the successful flight of Azarakhsh fighter jet, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said that Saeqeh which is the second generation of the same fighter jet would also launch official flights in the Iranian sky in the near future.

The fly-past in Isfahan appears to have been the first time the Azarakhsh jet has been shown in public.

The current US embargo means that Iran must work hard to find spare parts to keep its fleet in the air and officials have repeatedly emphasized the importance of moving towards self-sufficiency in defense.

Iran's deputy air force commander Mohammad Alavi said on Wednesday that Iran has already prepared plans to retaliate against any possible Israeli air attacks by bombing the Jewish state with "our warplanes," apparently referring to the new jet fighters.

JT

[S76Heavy]

well, I suppose you increase your striking distance enormously by not having to calculate fuel for a return leg..:}

[splitbrain]

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran's air force said that his troops have succeeded in increasing the traveling distance of the US F14 fighter jets to 14,000 miles.

Someone has been telling a few fibs somewhere up the chain of command :=. The boss is going to be pretty pissed when he finds out :E

[nacluv]

I think 'troops' is the key word here. Note that it is not 'aerospace engineers'.

I reckon troops carry the F14 for 12,000 miles then throw it up into the air like a paper dart. Hey presto - 14,000 miles range!!!!

[BEagle]

Perhaps there's a clue here:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a341/nw969/747tanker.jpg

[Airborne Aircrew]

I reckon troops carry the F14 for 12,000 miles then throw it up into the air like a paper dart

The listed ferry range of the F-14D according to Wikipedia is 1600nm... I'm thinking that if they hung a bowser on each wing they might be able to go 14,000nm...

... or did they make it nuclear powered? :eek:

[EchoMike]

Pretty paint on these aircraft, at least.

I see a slow slide towards war . . . the rhetoric gets more and more
antagonistic as the weeks go by, everyone's "position" is hardening,
nobody is saying "hey, you know, guys, we're not actually looking for a
fight here", just boasting about how they're so gonna whup the other
guy's ass when the fight arrives.

Push comes to shove (and it looks more and more like it is coming), Iran
is going to lose this war, big time. Remember that during the Iran-Iraq
war, they fought each other bitterly for ten years, tooth and nail,
horrendous casualties on both sides, and basically came out with a draw,
no winners. In fact, both lost.

When the US invaded Iraq, one of the protagonists in the ten year war
above, it was over in less than a month. (While the US absolutely won
the war, we have not been particularly good at winning the peace - but
that is another topic for later.)

Logically, then, if Iran and Iraq were fairly evenly matched, and we
demolished one of them in under a month, why should we expect the
remaining one to be a much more formidable foe?

The answer is that they are not. They are doing a LOT of yelling and
screaming about how tough they are, but you may recall the last country
in the area which did exactly the same thing (WMD anyone?) and what
happened to them.

Further, while Dubya had some work to do in drumming up war fever
against Iraq, here in the US we have a grudge to settle with the mullahs
in Iran - we remember the 444 day hostage crisis, and how Khomeni (may
he rot in hell) suddenly released the captives just as Ronald Reagan was
sworn in as president - and Ronald Reagan said he intended to free our
people in Tehran and he was ready to send the Marines RIGHT NOW to go do
it, and also the Army, the Navy, and also the entire Air Force, carrying
however many megatons as might be needed to get the job done . . .

Clearly understanding that Reagan meant what he was saying, and clearly
understanding that the entire USA was behind Reagan (because we elected
him based on what he promised to do), the mullahs made a very sane
choice (for once), and promptly released the captives, who were on an
airplane and in the air as Reagan was being sworn in.

Here's what I see - if we do go to war against Iran, we'll be going with
a score to settle. Iran should not make the mistake of believing their
own propaganda about how tough they are - the evidence says otherwise.
If nothing else, go to Wikipedia and compare the amount of military
equipment available to the US and to Iran. Not only is the US arsenal
overwhelmingly bigger, it is also overwhelmingly better, and has much
greater flexibility.

If there is a war, the initial phase - the destruction of Iran's
military potential - will be over very, very quickly. Unfortunately,
long after Iran's pretty airplanes are smoking holes in the desert, the
fighting on the ground will be going on and on and on, and it will be
just like Iraq is now, except more and bigger and longer and bloodier.
Again, no winners, just losers, although more than a few countries in
the area will be very glad indeed that the USA has done their dirty work
for them (again).

The key here is two fold.

One, we need to get Dubya's guys to start to talk to the Iranians.
Talking to your enemies reduces the chances that you might have to fight
them - because even if your victory is a sure thing, it is greatly
preferable not to have to fight at all.

Two, the Iranians need to realize that all their bravado is frightening
their neighbors and convincing them that Iran has serious military plans
for the area (even if it is really just noise in self defense), and that
pushes these neighbors closer to the one REAL threat that Iran faces,
and that is the US, which is not in the least afraid of Iran, and which
secretly hopes Iran does start something so we can "get even" for the
embassy hostage episode.

In point of fact, Iran has no serious military competitors in the area.
Israel is not interested (and is not able) to invade Iran. Any potential
air strike against Iranian nuclear facilities would be out of fear
(pronounced "self defense") that Iran is developing a nuclear bomb, and
they have said that they intend to destroy Israel. Much of this noise is
for internal consumption (to distract the Iranians from the incompetence
of their own government and the sad state of their economy), but if
someone were threatening me, I'd take whatever precautions were
necessary BEFORE I found out if they were serious or "just kidding" -
afterward is too late when you are talking about nuclear weapons.

Iran is (allegedly) building a bomb because it will (allegedly) make
them safe from attack - in fact, the achievement of the bomb guarantees
that they WILL be attacked. Unfortunately, everyone involved (both
sides) is not making that connection.

The logic should be "If you don't build a bomb, we'd have no reason or
intent to attack you, so you won't need to build a bomb in the first place."
Save everyone a lot of trouble.

Best Regards,

Echo Mike

[Airborne Aircrew]

The logic should be "If you don't build a bomb, we'd have no reason or
intent to attack you, so you won't need to build a bomb in the first place."
Save everyone a lot of trouble.Sorry Echo.

Logic and Ahmadenijad are incompatible. He does not function from a logical basis but rather a theological basis. As such logic is thrown out of the window in favor of the scribblings of some 4th Century superstitionist. (I know, it's not a word).

You can't negotiate with any man that bases his life around a belief system that preaches "death to all but the faithful", (it does say that if you chose to read it that way - and many seem to), and you can't trust any man who enjoys steadily escalating brinkmanship - which he does. He will teeter and fall at some point...

[MightyGem]

Even the 70Sqn Argosy bounced 'em
Well, I suppose they might have got a little better in the decades since.

[TEEEJ]

An image of the recently announced flights

http://www.payvand.com/news/07/sep/Saeqeh-fighter-plane-test-Tehran1.jpg

More images here

http://www.payvand.com/news/07/sep/1232.html

[The Helpful Stacker]

Do you reckon F22 pilots are worried about these 'new' Iranian aircraft?

[kiwi grey]

If it came to that, I'd guess they'd be worried there might be not enough to go round .. as targets :\

[FoxtrotAlpha18]

Check out those reinforcing lugs at the bottom of the vertical stab, a la F/A-18A-D. Looks like they may have some flutter issues, although I can't see it pulling much Alpha?!

[L J R]

I was aware of the twin tailed F-5 / F-20 morph, but didn't really take it seriously as an Iranian Fighter that the newspaper article was referring to....silly me for getting my info from the press.

[harrogate]

I've no doubt whatsoever that a considerable arsenal can be hung under those MASSIVE wings.

[glad rag]

That picture on post 10 is very interesting, combine the two and there you go..dunno just how much use like but an interesting engineering exercise.

[Flyingblind]

As an engineering exercise this program is all well and good, but hardly groundbreaking stuff. I would have thought it most impressive if the IIAF had pushed an updated indigenous built Lavi out the hanger :}, now that would have deserved some comment, but a warmed over F5?

Think not.

[PumpCockMixMags]

Last info I read on F22 raptor was that during recent exercises against F16, F18 and F15C with newer solid state radar, was it was killing air and ground targets with impunity. Therefore me thinks F22 versus Iranian Thingy would be akin to clubbing baby seals. :}