Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 8
By Khalid Kazimov - Trend:
Commander of the Owj Complex of Iran's Air Force Hushang Monfard Zadeh says that Iran is working on a fighter jet advanced enough to compete with 4th-generation fighters of developed countries, Fars news agency reported on Feb. 8.
The official stated that the fighter would be an improvement of Saeqeh (meaning thunderbolt), a recently made fighter jet, but would use advanced electronic equipment comparable to that of 4 to 4.5th generation fighters now available.
"The Defense Ministry's various sections are working on electro-avionic and radar systems. These systems have been indigenized. So we are looking forward impatiently to updating the equipment used in Saeqeh, since threats are developing on a daily basis," he said.
"What threatens us is not regional countries," he said, "but flights by ultra-regional forces. So we have to be able to track and recognize aircraft belonging to the US, Israel, etc. In the future we are going to have an aircraft with that ability."
In recent years, the Defense Ministry has made significant achievements in the field of aerospace technology.
Iran unveiled its first domestically manufactured fighter jet, called the Azarakhsh (Lightning), in 2007. The Saeqeh fighter plane was a follow-up aircraft derived from the Azarakhsh. Iran unveiled its first squadron of Saeqeh fighter jets in an air show in September 2010.
