Iran wants you to believe that it has a new stealth fighter with all the bells and whistles to compete with the U.S. military’s F-22 and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Iran Defense Ministry Ahmad Vahidi attended a Feb. 2 unveiling of what the Iranians are calling the Qaher 313.
Of course, plenty of questions revolve around the authenticity of the Iranian stealth fighter. From the pictures, the cockpit glass is a dead give away at how unreal this plane likely is. John Reed at Foreign Policy took a deeper dive.
“In fact, it looks like the Iranians dumped some rudimentary flight controls and an ejection seat into a shell molded in what they thought were stealthy angles,” Reed writes.
He goes further writing: “The jet is so small it looks like the man is sitting in a clown car, er, clown fighter. It’s seriously unlikely that such an aircraft has room to carry the avionics, radars, electronic countermeasures, heat masking gear, and, most importantly for a fighter, the weapons that make modern stealth jets effective.”
Below is a video of the unveiling. Enjoy.
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Yay, Thunderbirds!
I am amazed. It seems that no one here (including the article's author is familiar with Iran's MO when it comes to these things or even bothered listening to what the IRGC general is saying. The clues as to whatthis is and why there appears to be so many anomloies are there. Nobody it seems has been able to understand it.
Se1
They'll put it on the Farsi version of "Thunderbirds Are Go!" starring Mahmoud A. as one of the puppeteers. If nothing else, they must have a pretty good R(adio)C(ontrol) & flying carpet club over there. If they build a full scale model they'll be about ten years behind the ol' Boeing B(ird)O(f)P(rey) when it first flew.
Interesting mockup.
Where is the armament carried?
armament? no, theres no room. to say it has enough room for a pilot it probably a bit much also. it looks like it should come with a saddle the pilots sits so high on top of it.
Almost the same size as an F35, and if you remember the F16 it has an even higher position for the pilot. Other than this being an obvious mock up and another of Iran's misleading propaganda noone believes, it looks like a fighter jet. Why can the weapons not be wing mounted? I realize it wouldn't be stealthy that way but they do not have to be on obvious hard points. Looks big enough for 1 or 2 AA missiles like the sparrow.
Armament is strapped to the vest of the pilot.
Up the pilots a&*
Armament? We were supposed to include armament? Oh crap!
Looks like the fictional F-19 from the 80s. Most other talk says its another run off of the F-5E fighter. I dont believe them at all.
HAHAHAHA… The flying plane is an RC plane. You can tell by the oscillations.
Couldn't even be bothered to use gyros.
Thought it was interesting the exhaust/afterburner was covered and tagged in English stating verbatim, "Remove Before Flight". Why would Iranians have an english-language on a removal tag? Anyone else catch that in the video?
That's the part that makes it stealth- the Radar sees that and goes "English? Must be OK to ignore". Of course, the pilot is going "D'oh!" since they were supposed to be removed before flight, but….
Most things Aviation are in English. I wouldn't put too much stock in that.
Let also keep in mind that they DID NOT bring down that very high tech drone of our's operating out of Afghanistan last year – at least that's what our government told us. I think we better wait to make a judgement on this – could be egg on our faces if it shows up @ the Paris Air Show in a couple of years – just say'n. I think we under estimate the Iranians at our own peril.
Do you know how easy it is to make a model of whatever the subject is?
Engineer (fellow Engineer) is right. This may be a model and it may not even be an accurate reproduction of the real thing. But that does not mean that the real thing does not exist. It is their "Ten Days of Dawn" celebration (their version of independence day, but it goes on for well ten days) so they were in a hurry to show something to their public but at the same time they are careful not to show too much to the west. The real plane exists but it is in developmental stage. A prototype of sorts has flown and they have a very specific reason for designing this plane. Its shape and what the IRGC general says on the video should tell everyone everything they need to know. Just look at the flying objects they have in their inventory already and you will figure it out.
You're kind of nieve to believe that that drone was not brought down! Did you see the same web cams that I have seen? There was no damage to the drone, the drone was intact, made me think that maybe they took control of it to bring it down! The Iranians are not as dumb as you may think, I would not take them lightly in their technology and we shall see in the future what happens. They are producing their own technoloby unlike us we get most of ours from China! Da! That should tell you something. Also where do you think they may be getting help from? Hummn!
Re-read my post – I think you will answer your own querstions.
You got to be kidding, right?
Someone frankenstein'd together the body from the X36, tail fins from the JSF, and the winglets from the Bird of Prey… then tossed in the X32's exhaust for good measure.
Unfortunately, they forgot to scale the design. It'll be a stocking stuffer come Christmas. http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/x-36-122364…
MMMmmmmmmmm Bshitt…. Ehem.
"Sorry, I seemed to have coughed while calling bull****…"
ok, normally when a country (no matter China, Russia, or anyone else) unveils any piece of "their pride of nation", i'm trying to be neutral, but this…… ok, i'll be a skeptic for now……
What in the hell is that thing? If it flies, even if it sucks in combat, I'll give whoever designed it props. That's IF it flies.
….meanwhile in Hollywood, on the set of Iron Eagle V, someone just lost their job guarding the prop storage area.
It can fly they have a video of it flying on CNN. Combat ready?? Who knows.
When I saw this “stealth fighter” on the RT TV website,I had to mention it. I also saw an article about it on Global Security.org. It’s one thing to dissect the Russian stealth fighter & the Chinese stealth fighter,but I can’t even take this seriously. I’m just waiting for someone to say that the “stealth technology” is based on the UAV they claim to have captured from the U.S.
Maybe they glued the UAV's panels to the shell of this thing and called it a day.
The thing I take seriously is that the president of Iran is in Egypt sucking up to their TERRORIST president right after Egypt takes delivery of 4 brand-new F16s.Any bets on whether Iran gets a glimpse of the new planes and engines?
Roy! It is! It is! It IS based on the "captured" stealth drone! Don't you see? It has the same shape and angles and everything! ;~)
It flies off the AC outlet from the wall. See the cable ?
Yeah, that's why Iran needs its nuclear program – to keep their air force airborne…
Yep Iran is going green, it's an electric ducted fan.
does the thing generates any lift from those tiny wings? looks like a toad about to go belly up
lol iran is such a sorry nation. that thing is fake and they reallyt suck at trying to fool people.
I think North Korea holds the top spot in this category……
It also transforms into a giant robot
Giant? I don't think so.
The Iranians also made a new parachute. It deploys on impact.
I got one of those for my kid at "Toys R US" works great; just have to peddle quickly to get it off the ground
Someone make a model and throw it into the wind tunnel. I wonder if the Iranians bothered.
I was against cutting our defense budget before I saw this video.
Did they use Elmer's or epoxy? Wonder how many gallons to keep it glued together…
Where do I start…….first of all it looks like a copy of the old US HiMAT test aircraft. Now, the Iranian aircraft in this picture has many, many issues. If you buy that they designed this, which they've really shown no capacity for up until this point, then I can only assume this is a mock up and not a flight worthy aircraft. The 'design' (I hesitate to call it that) has a number of issues, not the least of which is a seemingly lack of space for radars or weapons, or even space for fuel. On top of that if you look at the engine inlets they're located just above the leading edge of the wing which means no high alpha (angle of attack) maneuvers………seems like more bluster for the Iranians, that's one thing they are good at.
Its all a ploy!! Their photoshopped missiles, their mines, their aircraft, their submarines- its a gag! The US and Israel will see this and die laughing! They win!
The only thing that worries me is if these are actually decoys and they have different, real, and functional, and our Intel isn't able to produce data on the REAL threat for our warplanners to use. I mean, someone fed Bush bad data on Iraq's nuclear ambitions and he believed it- may have even been the Iranians so their enemies would fight their enemies and give them some breathing room.
I'm all for not underestimating potential foes, but this is ridiculous. This is laugh out loud hilarious. Iran's S-S missiles? Sure. Chemical warheads? Wouldn't surprise me. Nuclear? Some time down the track yeah. But lets not lose sleep over this 3/5 size unflyable mockup with no weapons or sensors.
Its quite likely that this thing is a blusterous hoax. But if youll humor my playing the devils advocate…
Just because there is a model on display, it doesnt mean that there isnt something in a hanger some where at some stage of completion. If that is the case, neither our design assumptions nor Iranian rhetoric would mean that Iran would go about building fighters like we do, or that they want them to do the same things. Iran surely cant afford to go the route we have, but then again neither can we. Its also unlikely they would show thier entire hand, even though they clearly cant help themselves when it comes to thier attempts at showing off.
My guess is that they really want to build a new fighter, they will want to leverage thier geography and the tactical advantages of defense. I dont think they are ambitous enough, or stupid enough, to expect to achieve air superiority over Saudi Arabia or Israel anytime soon. An economilcally feasable very small fighter would however allow them to build up a fighter force that would allow them to operate defensively in and around Iran, and it would allow them to take off and land in many more places, making them more resiliant to strikes on thier bases. They would be unlikely to prevent any all out attacks, but it might make them more resiliant, and that might deter any attacks, or the continuation of an attack.
Granted, such a small aircraft would be unlikely to carry all of the do dads we rely on. But defensively, with a gun or some missles and a good early warning system (including even old school air spotters and phones system) might allow them to launch quickly and engage attackers WVR, before disengaging and landing quickly. A small fighter might have the fuel for that, and if it has STOL capability such an approach just might work. Weapons, and maybe more fuel and even sensors would likely be external, although they might be able to fit a data link or passive sensor on board. Of course none of this would work against the USAFs supposed invisability, but if that is true than it would be just as true if it had a big radar and all the extras.
Any external carriage would certaintly hurt any LO charachteristics, but you dont need perfect stealth to make yourself a smaller target. Some helpful shaping and small size would go a long way towards this, so would a lack of active sensors and communications. If this is a WVR fighter, the size would make it harder to spot visually, and that wouldnt hurt. It would have to have a competitive thrust to weight ratio and low wing loading, as its unlikely to get vectored thrust, and any exhaust uprgade would likely be thermal management. The Iranians are appearantly lagging far behind in engine development, so they may be attacking the weight side of EM formulas rather than counting on big wings and bigger engines. Keep in mind, they have a strong ground based missle industry, so WVR aerial combat might be looking to balance out thier current or future SAMs by adding some guns, especially if they can get some help
Russians.
Judging by the Iranian approach in other fields, they might just be going for a numerical advantage, or to lesson a numerical disadvantage, and to keep losses acceptable. If this is real, and again I doubt it, it would not fill the primary role air power does for us, rather they are probably wanted to give any attackers as many problems to deal woth as possible, in terms of width as well as depth. If real, and yet again I doubt it, it surely wouldnt be the kind of plane we would want, and it sure woudnt be perfect, but it might be good enough for Irans needs. Small, cheap, and not devestating if lost. With their economy and fuel refinery problems, we shouldnt expect much more than this, but that doesnt mean it couldnt be part of a bigger deterance and defense picture.
wasn't the ME whatever-it-was in WWII a very small one way rocket powered plane that was (for the time) super fast and hard to hit? Maybe the Iranians are going for the same thing…who knows. And again, let them spend themselves silly on something. Spending was (I think) what destroyed the Soviets.
The German WWII-era Messerschmitt Me-163 Komet was a rocket powered point defence interceptor. It was indeed small, extremely fast for the day, and with an impressive climb rate. It was not "one way" however, at least not intentionally. The fuel and oxidizer used were hypergolic though, so they ignited on contact. If that contact happened to be outside the actual rocket reaction chamber (such as if the fuel sloshed around when the plane bounced on landing), the Komet had a regrettable tendency to suffer a prompt-rapid, exothermic flight termination event.
The Bachem Ba-349 Natter on the other hand was indeed a "one way" point defence interceptor. Rocket powered, with vertical take-off, it was essentially a "manned SAM", intended to climb rapidly, fire it's weapons at the US or UK bombers overhead and then come apart, with the pilot and the engine descending by parachute.
Regards & all,
Thomas L. Nielsen
Luxembourg
Why should you make a fool of yourself and let a Pilot sit in a downscaled model, to make it look like a clown's car? That's just another piece of (bad) propaganda from Iran. Even if there is a normal sized plane, I would assume, that it won't fly, because of its aerodynamic failures (the canards are much to close and on the same level als the wings, what would imho produce too much turbulence). And just take a look at the engine… no exhaust nozzle at all. And how are they going to lock the canopy (which is in fact not very transparent).
As I have said in my other posts here, they (the IRGC general on the video in this article literally tell you what it is supposed to be). A model of it actually has flown already. The Russians have already shown a video of this in their broadcasts. This is in all likelihood a wing in ground aircraft. This makes sense. They see the US fleet/bases both as a threat and a lucrative target all these have to do is to penetrate the multi layered defenses of the fleet to hit the ships or to take out the US halos/base. Now the Iranians are low level flying experts and their country is very mountainous (with mountains higher than the Alps/the Rockies). A small ultra low flying aircraft moving at 300/400 mph with stealth capabilities and carrying just one or two missile and operating within the cul-de-sac of the Persian gulf, needs very little range to reach all its targets (the US/Saudi/UAE fleets bases and oil installations) with relative ease and take them out without much difficulty.
Qaher F-313 Meerkat ☺
origami, i guess :D
Big JOKE
This is a mock up. The plane flying was a model, that is obvious. Are these guys kidding, do they think anybody who knows anything about defense will believe them? Is it for their own people as propaganda? Do their own people believe this nonsense? Monkey's in space, fake jet fighters, fake missile systems made of 55 gallon drums, y'all forgot that one. These guys are a joke and they are expected to be able to make nuclear weapons within a few years. maybe that's the plan. To make everybody laugh at them all the while making real working nuclear weapons. But how would they deliver them? Would they just set them off at their boarder and have everybody in the country blow at them same time toward their enemy?
Piece of tihs looks like it would fall apart in flight. It's too bulky. Too much drag. This plane is not aerodynamically stable. I don't care how many lines of programming were written. A big flying piece of fecal matter. Just look at it. It reeks of pungent ass.
You base all that on a photo? That is a stretch.
It could be the plane the monkey trained in for his space fight. So there!
I'm from India, saw this photo on newspaper and wonder Iran's capacity at carbon composites, electronics (flying/counter measures/jamming), titanium production, AESA, testing..etc. More i think of more baffling it is. But i found Will Leach's comment most practical. Given the size, it can utmost be an interceptor/short range bomber. No big threat, looks stylish nevertheless than our own LCA Tejas. Lets wait and watch. For American friends: we 3rd world r some 50 yrs behind u in MilTech, so just relax & have silent laugh at these things, but keep a close watch too.
the only danger this "fighter" give is to its own pilot, (assuming if it fly)…
I hope this isn't true. Stealth aircraft have to cost hundreds of billions of dollars to design and have to cost hundreds of millions per airplane to build. Plus it takes at least 3 decades to design one. This is a threat to all that the US defense contractors have told us. It is a threat to the record profits Lockheed makes year after year!
I am amazed. It seems that no one here (including the article's author is familiar with Iran's MO when it comes to these things or even bothered listening to what the IRGC general is saying. The clues as to whatthis is and why there appears to be so many anomloies are there. Nobody it seems has been able to understand it.
Se1
Read more: http://defensetech.org/2013/02/04/irans-new-steal…
Defense.org
Why does it have red " REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT" tags in English, when they don't speak English?
Their intelligent engineers had their inspiration from Manga cartoons it appears.
No way, if they had their product would look much cooler.
And probably been that much less functional.
Ya gotta love how it sits and spins on the turntable, though. It's just like a display at a car show!
Is it just me or does the front look like some kind of hard plastic wrapped around a skeleton frame? Also, I don't recall too many fighters being shown off with such a clean engine exhaust outlet and a butt plug installed. Yea and that glass is more like some really cheap plexiglass used for golf carts. I highly doubt it meets any civilian safety specs for flight not to mention military use.
Is that Monkey going to Fly it?
Firefox!
Can anyone see a throttle in these pics?
Remember that Iranian aircraft would be operating over Iran, where fuel capacity and range are less of a concern than in strike aircraft coming from Tel Aviv.. A small, highly maneuverable aircraft, deployed in large numbers, could be devastating to stealth aircraft, vulnerable to detection from above. I actually met a Korean War ace, who said the tiny MIGs outmaneuvered the F-86's badly (when the MIGs were flown by Russian vets). He earned all his kills by climbing high and diving on his prey. He said that if we had fought the Soviets in Europe, we would have been out of aircraft as soon as the airfields were all cratered by missile fire. The Soviets could operate theirs off of gravel roads. That said, this looks like a fiberglass model – it glistens like a ski boat with a fresh gel coat. Even if it flies, it takes years of practice to build up a functional air force , including personnel and infrastructure. That is why we slaughtered the MIGs in Korea, as soon as the Russian pilots departed.
That aircraft, if it is one, looks to small to carry a weapons load.
If "operating over Iran" means the few feet clearance above the ground that it gets when sitting on a runway.
Maybe an experimental fighter, if it is an aircraft at all.
Ha ha ha.i think all of americans scared from iranian technology.ha ha ha.i know that if iran make the nuclear bomb or make kavoshgar5 you will fucked up.bastards if USA can do any thing against islamic republic of iran then come and challeng.all of your army are in hollywood and call of duty.and spoil your roten army.ha ha ha.
You're kidding right? What are you, 3?
I think it's trying to communicate.
Should we help it?
No. Don't encourage it, either.
I would say it's a pure propaganda excercise. And not aimed at us but for the "benefit" of their own people. A way of saying that they can beat their enemies even under sanctions, a way of showing that they are doing a great job and you don't want to think about opposing the government.
Well….You develop two of these low radar signature plans that can carry a single non- nuke warhead. Then fly an Iranian midsized commercial plane from Iran with these two planes in formation on the commercial planes wing tips and it shows up like one larger plane. Fly from Iran and skirt the border between Turkey and Iraq, fly and land in Syria at night and refuel, continue on from Syria through Jordan at low altitude and then into Israel to Dimona nuclear power plant. Tit for tat. Israel wants to strike Iran's Nuclear targets and Iran hits first. I doubt if Israel wouldneed to send 200 planes into Iran to bomb Nuclear sites, just what is needed. Just saying you don't need a large number of aircraft for a surgical strike to be effective……Right or wrong.
We laugh at the Iranians and call them stone age high tech wannabes, but look at what the Afghani taliban done to high tech professional militaries in Afghanistan..destroyed the economy of the USA and caused the greatest defeat the United States suffered since Vietnam.
What Greatest defeat are you reffering to?
Kinda reminds me of those jets you could buy for GI Joe at ToysRUs where the GI Joe was half the size of the plane. Video of the 'flight' at 1:27 plane is maneuvering with its wheels down, so it's probably an RC vid. This is one of those times when the people doing the spoofing aren't even good enough to fake it well. At least show it moving under its own power. A lawn dart's got more lift.
Looks pretty primitive to me!
Im no aerospace engineer, but those wings do not look to provide much lift. I do like that extension cord though; nice touch.
Did they actually say this thing flew? Without translation it seems like their showing mockup. Its rather small, does appear to lack alot basic modern equipment including room for life support and ejection seat. I could see them flying it as low end (dangerous to its pilot) jet If their that desperate. However, i think there alot problems this just propaganda piece with alot RC models flying around.
Guys lets not tell those f&$ckrs what we know is wrong with that piece of s:!t, they maybe reading the same thing we are and take it to their so called engineers to build off of it.
"The thing's too small to hold its pilot, and you can't even see through the canopy!"
"Wait, WHAT? We need to build planes big enough to hold a person AND make the canopy see-through? Back to the drawing board!"
Maybe this is a trainer?
The video looks more like a Mirage fighter than anything else that I have seen that the Iranians might have in the air already.
Just want to put this out there. The Iranians have about 50,000 centrifuges spinning as we speak trying to and probably making weapons grade material. So if you think this is phony that's ok. Their leaders are their problem. The Iranian people are for the most part pro west. So even if this isn't real they do have the capability if they decide to do it. They aren't spinning those centrifuges for no reason. They fully intend to use that nuclear stuff at some point.
you mean misinfo from the intelligence agencies.
This was probably done for local public consumption. They are not so stupid as to think anyone else would be fooled by this. And the design looks like fevered imaginings of a Russian aerodynamicists (although their fevered imaginings have done pretty well).
The Iranian don't have to "do" afterburner on this jet because they have a setting for "LUDICROUS SPEED" ;-P
its a manned missle, probably able to be launched by a larger plane, possibly rail launched. it has only one function
just give another excuse for DoD to have another coffee break meeting to laugh over the video
I saw one of these in 7th grade! It was in my buddies’ geography notebook.
your buddies working for iran?!!!
It looks like a "bad" movie prop from a B grade movie. The intake are to small for one thing. The fit and finish are terrible. We could always as target on the bombing range
Its flying with the gear down!…like my kids Christmas present. Ha Ha Ha Ha
Paper or plastic?
Very cool. The worlds first inflatable fighter jet.
The Qaher F-313 competition for an F/A-22 Raptor or F-35 Lightening II!?!! You're kidding right? Not even in the same league with the American made fighters.
Bahahahaha!!!!!!!!
It doesn't look big enough to carry a slingg shot let alone a set of heat seekers!
Michael church first the American economy is not destroyed people are still buying there iPads and iPhones and money is still flowing. Secondly the US didn't lose the amount of lives it lost in previous wars in ratio go back to school. Secondly if we wanted we could of decimated the Taliban but it would look like genocide so when we fight we fight a civilized fight. We wait for the aggressors to aggress so we can defend. Your name is probably not even Michael church haseem sorry for critical blogging no one means to offend your pride.
got to love the fly by wire flight controls this thing has. NOT they couldnt even copy one of the best flight control systems in Aviation like the F-16 digital flight controls. This is a joke at best.
If it's an Iranian plane, why are the logos and engine cover in english?
Looks like it's made of plastic, and glued together.
This from a country that could not even get there F14 fleet back in the air and remember back when they were going to give the World there new jet fighter that was going to be like the F15 this thing is just a pile of s''t
Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad said that the Qaher (Conqueror) F-313 project “carries the message of brotherhood, peace, and security and it doesn’t pose any threat to anyone."
i have to agree, how can a cardboard and fibreglass oversized toy be of any sort of threat?
Enter text right here!As I have said in my other posts here, they (the IRGC general on the video in this article literally tell you what it is supposed to be). A model of it actually has flown already. The Russians have already shown a video of this in their broadcasts. This is in all likelihood a wing in ground aircraft. This makes sense. They see the US fleet/bases both as a threat and a lucrative target all these have to do is to penetrate the multi layered defenses of the fleet to hit the ships or to take out the US halos/base. Now the Iranians are low level flying experts and their country is very mountainous (with mountains higher than the Alps/the Rockies). A small ultra low flying aircraft moving at 300/400 mph with stealth capabilities and carrying just one or two missile and operating within the cul-de-sac of the Persian gulf, needs very little range to reach all its targets (the US/Saudi/UAE fleets bases and oil installations) with relative ease and take them out without much difficulty.
Enter text right hereTheir loses may be high, but they could absorb these losses. The corresponding losses to the US and its allies would not be absorbable. Also Iran’s last two combat aircrafts (which it fully manufactured based on reversed engineered F5s) were as much a step towards developing their technology as for their place in their defence arsenal. The real aircraft looks a bit different to the model they brought out for show. They always do that. Also if anyone doubts Iran’s capability to get close to the US fleet, just check out their 30 minute video of one of their drones shadowing and filming a US aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf.
On a separate matter, they Iranians did bring several US made drones down by hacking them and they managed to darken NATO satellites on two occasions at least.
In general the Iranians always exaggerate their capabilities and the west always underestimates their capabilities.
!
The thickness of the wings, etc, makes me think it is an inflatable with the air pump line coming from the wall. Would be a cool beach toy if it were…
FUGHAZI.
Iran offers proof jet is real:
http://peacemoonbeam.typepad.com/bighairynews/201…
That air craft is just about as stupid as that little monkey of a president, they have in Iran.Israel is lol!
I like the fact that the cockpit has a cassette deck with AM radio on the top of the dash. Who knows when your doing Mach 2 you might want to hear Cat Stevens, I mean Joseph Islam.
This aircraft cannot have much range. By judging the size of the cockpit there is not much room for fuel in this design. Future concept craft nothing more.
Well, here is my take on this, assumming that this is a legitimate aircraft in the first place (and that is a stretch) I would assume that the weapon(s)…..er…..bomb(s) are encorporated in the structure and given the muslim tendency to blow themselves up in order to get more virgins in the afterlife, I will venture to guess that this is the muslim version of the suicide aircraft. I mean thnk about it: small, cheap, claimed to be stealthy to keep skeptics skeptical, and the promise of paradise for the pilot for a one-way mission.
It doesn't look it can fly. Although I may be wrong. It could be a real RC jet.
An Iranian scientist told me they were going to land on the Sun. I replied, "Unh, unh, its too hot!' His response was, "You Westerner's aren't very smart. We are going to land after dark!"
It has taken Iran years just to get the Saeqeh into service at squadron strength and several have crashed already. The Saeqeh is basically the F-5 design enlarged to take bigger more powerful engines and twin canted tail fins to improve high angle of attack maneuvers. Northrop studied similar F-5 improvements as the P530/P600 Cobra in 1966.
Going on Irans difficulties getting the Saeqeh operational IMHO it is possible if unlikely that they have produced a indigenous aircraft design prototype.
Getting the Qaher into service in any numbers will be a whole different story.
Iran has stated that the aircraft seen flying were two scale models. One was prop driven the other was jet driven. The models were flown to test the aerodynamics and flight worthiness of the design. The actual full size aircraft has not flown yet and is expected to begin flight testing later this year.
How is it even generating lift?
This could be the mother of all rc jets….hmm..
totally bogus "aircraft". Wing thickness prohibits supersonic. Inlets too small for an engine of any real modern value and blanked above about 20 degrees AoA. No exhaust nozzle. No IR signature reduction. The "coatings" reflect visible spectrum so I dont see them eating up radar waves. 70's era facet based "stealth technology". It doesnt even have any brakes! how did it get up on that platform without a crane? Maybe b/c its fiberglass. You can even see the fiberglass in the cockpit shots. Plexiglass canopy is heavily distorted. The canopy is just held open with a red metal rod. No doors for internal stores and no hard points for external stores. Those goofy anhedral winglets smack of yaw instability as well as an induced drag nightmare. The flaps are like almost nonexistent and the "canard" is huge and directly in front of the "wing" which would play havoc with the airflow over said wing. Trying to look like you know what you are doing when you have no idea what you are doing is really obvious. I assure you US DoD contractors are laughing their asses off at this one.
Wasn't 313 the licence plate number of Donald Duck? – quit suitable…
Truly something to fear. The crappy video quality, that is. I d be majorly surprised if this pile of stinko can actually roll out the hanger under its own power. Iran is a joke, the Chinese stealths are the ones to actually fear. They have the cash (trillions) to actual build something not half-bad and then what will they do with it ? Thats the bigger question.
My other thought was that I built a very similar model out of spare Testor model kit parts in 1970. And yes I was a Sting Ray, Fireball XR5 and Thunderbirds fan as a boy in England.
I do wonder how far these Iranian "engineers" with 12 years and $18 Billion dollars?
Without Lockmart leading the way I bet they might have a real problem free F-35 by now.
Lets send Clint Eastwood, I mean, Colonel Mitchell Gant to go in there and steal it!!!
I think I saw my old tape deck from my 1982 Chevy in the cockpit.
Where do you put the batteries?
US assumptions might be wrong. What if its a very short range fighter? Part of huge US fighter size comes from being Trans-oceanic with a couple of refuels. What if its not intended for supersonic cruise but only during combat sprints? What if due its being a short range fighter, the Iranians expect to link most of the electronic sensor data from outside the plane (home field advantage)? (Probably silly strategy in itself since external sites would be first targets hit…but until that happens.) What if its armed for short duration combat before landing to rearm (say 2-3 missiles only)? What if the fleet of fighters is designed to interoperate with ground stations as a switchable, distributed, home field missile launch and control net? That is everything from processing power, supplementary illumination, and control can be supplied from any surviving node? I have my doubts that Iran could deploy sufficient numbers of air and ground nodes to sustain a long attack…but they might be able to get enough deployed to reach the minimum node numbers to be become effective against modern planes. Heh remember the grad students tutoring today's US/allied weapon designers moved back home over the last 10-20 years. So potentially Iran has the same brain power. But their lack of material resources might be forcing an alternative approach.
Or it might all be FUD campaign simply because that uses even less resources.
Or it could be worse. Could be man-piloted V-2 style nuclear buzz bomb. That needs only very simple electronics GPS and laser ring gyro to navigate. maybe missile radar warning. But nukes need no target radar. And you are close enough to burn out their navigation with EW…they are close enough to get you with EMP and blast.
I love the remove before flight tag below the exhaust. Nothing says "death to America" like using your enemy's language on your new super fighter. LOL at Iran!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK-i88B4flo
Psshh….a 15 year old F-15 would knock that POS outta the sky in 30 seconds