October 16, 2019
Iran's So-Called New Fighter Jet Is Most Likely a Scam (Sort Of)
Or just another F-5 ripoff?
by Sebastien Roblin
Key point: The Iranian air force is very outdated and this jet is no exception.
Tehran is keen to produce its own jet fighters—but designing and manufacturing advanced combat jets poses formidable technological challenges difficult for an isolated industrial base to resolve on its own. Nonetheless, the Iranian air force has prominently showcased its development of several domestic fighter jets since the turn of the century, most notably the HESA Saeqeh (“Thunderboltâ€), which Iranian media have claimed to be superior to the F-18 Hornet.
But performance specifications and technical details for these aircraft have remained either vague or nonexistent. This may be less due to secrecy than because additional details would likely be unimpressive, because the Saeqeh is a reverse-engineered American F-5 Freedom Fighter with a new tail and upgraded avionics.
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/irans-so-called-new-fighter-jet-most-likely-scam-sort-88361
