Iranian Air Force commander, Mohammad Zalbeigi said on Sunday Iran is creating another domestically-made fighter jet to compliment their previous one that was released in August of 2018.
Zalbeigi told the semi-official Mehr News Agency that the Iranian Air Force has made “considerable progress in designing various types of aircraft, thanks to the efforts of the IRIAF personnel and knowledge-based companies”. “God willing, we will witness the designing and production of [one more] aircraft built at the IRIAF in the near future”, he added, pledging that the new plane will be unveiled soon.
He singled out the Iranian-made fighter jet Kowsar, which is already in service with the country’s air force and which the Iranian commander said can be seen as an example of the IRIAF’s progress. “During the parade held last year everyone witnessed the flight of Kowsar aircraft”, he said, referring to the jet’s equipment that “conforms to the world’s most advanced [aerial] systems”.
The Kowsar was unveiled by Iran’s Defence Minister Amir Hatami during a ceremony in August 2018. Hatami said at the time that Tehran was acting within the framework of the active deterrence strategy to “acquire whatever is necessary for defence” and that apart from warplanes, Iran will also develop domestically-made surface-to-air missile systems.
The latest remarks by Zalbeigi’ came amid growing tensions between Tehran and Washington, which escalated after top Iranian General Qasem Soleimani was assassinated in a US drone strike in Baghdad on 3 January 2020 that was authorised by President Donald Trump. Iran retaliated with missile strikes against the US /NATO military bases in Iraq.
The tensions have existed since President Donald Trump announced Washington’s unilateral withdrawal in May 2018 from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal with world powers and Germany.
The US also reinstating harsh economic sanctions against the Persia. Iran, in May last year announced that it had begun suspending some of its JCPOA obligations, adding that the steps are reversible.
Sources: Mehr News, Sputnik
Sources: Mehr News, Sputnik
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