Should the West worry? "Iran unveiled its newest combat jet, a domestically manufactured fighter-bomber, that military officials claim can evade radar. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a ceremony today broadcast on state TV that building the Qaher-313, or Dominant-313, shows Iran's will to 'conquer scientific peaks'. The Qaher is one of several aircraft designs rolled out by the Iranian military since 2007. Tehran has repeatedly claimed to have developed advanced military technologies in recent years but its claims cannot be independently verified because the country does not release technical details of its arsenals. The Islamic republic launched a self-sufficiency military program in the 1980s to compensate for a Western weapons embargo that banned export of military technology and equipment to Iran. Since 1992, Iran has produced its own tanks, armoured personnel carriers, missiles, torpedoes, drones and fighter planes. Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi said: ‘Qaher-313 is a fully indigenous aircraft designed and built by our aerospace experts. ‘This is a radar-evading plane that can fly at low altitude, carry weapons, engage enemy aircrafts and land at short airstrips.’ " Iran unveils homemade fighter jet which it claims can evade radar | Mail Online
Avionics are an important part of any modern aircraft, and I'm not completely convinced that the Iranians have the infrastructure to make modern combat-capable systems themselves. The plane itself looks interesting -- the nose and cockpit have a resemblance to the F-35 (albeit much smaller), while the faceted fusalage have some similarities with the old F-117. All that being said, does that aircraft look small to anyone? I have a hard time seeing this in production - something seems rather 'toy-like' to me. As a side note, the Daily Mail really needs to brush up when it comes to captions. That second picture down is the F-22 (not the F/A-18), and the last one is the F/A-18 (not the F-5). Although if their source is Iranian state news, I wouldn't be surprised EDIT: and another thing; what's up with those intakes? They're way too small to be practical for any decent-sized jet engine.
I would like to see a pic of the thing in flight, it has a "static mock up" look to. IMO they have a chance to get it to work, while a modern combat aircraft programme is a hugely complex task there'se plenty of out of work top level aerospace talent available and they have money. Compared to western programmes they are less likely to suffer from the internal industrial politics that plague western companies, "rewards" for failure or silverlining, while not on a Stalin scale are likely to discourage that, if they can get hold of a few top class engineers, and, besides the ex USSR there'se a lot of frustrated technical talent in the accountant/politica nominee dominated western industry, they could get the job done. Same goes for specialized components where they lack the manufacturing know how, despite US export control efforts the starved for business high tech industry is not going to look too deep into where the orders for "dual use" stuff is going to. The real weakness of that procurrement model is that the chance for "stuxnet like" sabotage is high, it's hard to do QA on a tecnlology you don't control, but they have probably learned from that mistake.
Possibly for domestic or border propaganda...then again, info has been leaking like a seive of late so who freak'n knows...That said, it looks like a poor mock up to me...you could have smaller engines, not having the same speed as a F-22...the signature looks small...but if you have sats you can look down...A an infiltrator aircraft it has its possibilities...? Smells like...looks like...i wonder what it must be...?
The Iraninans have a bit of a reputation for creating mockups and claiming they are new functional systems.
The wing tips are bent downwards. Trying to think of any current fighters that have those tips...See them on airliners/commercial.. Would those tips not create a large reflection?
Interestingly Pops...remember the Volksyaeger/Salamanda/162? The tips usually bring stability in the turn...try to think of the "winged keel" of a performance yacht...A sign of a compromised design for an aircraft. Its also associated with "high tech" in people's minds...so its more likely and affectation.
They should have photo shopped out...Or maybe they put them in. ..Has to be fake. What size engine would be realistic for load/speed capability- also : radar size compared to pilot?
Yeah...there could be a bunch of Photo shopping...i wonder why they didnt shoot it with the Iranian colours on it...? The size of engine depends on what its designed for...Like the F-117 (which was a bomber not fighter) it could be to infiltrate - slow and low - toss a bomb at a specific "must hit" target. Many models have the stabilizers on their wings...could this be a model blown up in size a little? Hollywood are vets at it...
Shows how old I is...Phantom was last fighter can recall with bent tips...Have you got links? Need to update grey matter. Cheers.
The F-4 has more a "saw-tooth" 2 stage wing...rather than stabilizers...for high speed stability...so it does a similar job.
Here's some more- "Iran is hailing it as one of the most advanced fighter jets in the world, capable of evading radar, landing on short airstrips and controlling the skies with its deadly arsenal. The jet, known as the 'Qaher 313', was unveiled on Saturday at a ceremony involving Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other high-ranking officials. But aviation experts have expressed doubts about the aircraft based on an analysis of photos released by the Iranian government - not least of which is can it actually fly? David Cenciotti of the blog The Aviationist, pointed out what appear to be some serious design flaws. He wrote that the wiring of the cockpit's front panel appears too simple and it seems too small for a pilot to fit inside. 'It looks like this pilot is in a miniature plane. 'The shape is interesting with some innovative features but the Q-313 displayed on February 1, 2013, seems to be nothing more than a large mock up model (not properly sized to accommodate a real pilot…. ),' he wrote. 'The cockpit seems to be basic (a bit too much for a modern plane – note the lack of wirings behind the front panel). And, above all, the aircraft is way too small.' Mr Cenciott's comments are backed up by the pictures at the unveiling ceremony where the plane appears to be made in miniature. He also notes the plane's air intakes are also quite small and the back engine contains no nozzle for afterburners, which would probably cause the minor setback of melting the entire jet." Dominant-313: Critics shoot down Iran's homemade stealth fighter that 'can't be detected by radar' | Mail Online
Here's some more- "Iran is hailing it as one of the most advanced fighter jets in the world, capable of evading radar, landing on short airstrips and controlling the skies with its deadly arsenal. The jet, known as the 'Qaher 313', was unveiled on Saturday at a ceremony involving Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other high-ranking officials. But aviation experts have expressed doubts about the aircraft based on an analysis of photos released by the Iranian government - not least of which is can it actually fly? David Cenciotti of the blog The Aviationist, pointed out what appear to be some serious design flaws. He wrote that the wiring of the cockpit's front panel appears too simple and it seems too small for a pilot to fit inside. 'It looks like this pilot is in a miniature plane. 'The shape is interesting with some innovative features but the Q-313 displayed on February 1, 2013, seems to be nothing more than a large mock up model (not properly sized to accommodate a real pilot…. ),' he wrote. 'The cockpit seems to be basic (a bit too much for a modern plane – note the lack of wirings behind the front panel). And, above all, the aircraft is way too small.' Mr Cenciott's comments are backed up by the pictures at the unveiling ceremony where the plane appears to be made in miniature. He also notes the plane's air intakes are also quite small and the back engine contains no nozzle for afterburners, which would probably cause the minor setback of melting the entire jet." Dominant-313: Critics shoot down Iran's homemade stealth fighter that 'can't be detected by radar' | Mail Online
Yep. Essentially what I said a week ago. Someone just doesn't look right about it. If you look closely at the cockpit photo, I think you can see the fibreglass that its made out of (look to the side of the seat and you'll notice the odd texture). Also, its a bit difficult to fly a plane that doesn't have any type of lock to keep the canopy shut! Also in the news: An "in-flight" picture was published today. Too bad it was a horrendously poor photoshop job. Iran's 'fake' fighter jet spotted in the air (with a little help from Photoshop) | Mail Online
