US media: Iranian Kowsar1 fighter clone F5? Oath of self-sufficiency under US sanctions
It is well known that Iran imported F-5 fighter jets from the United States in 1979. Although Western countries have already cut off the supply chain, Iran can still upgrade this Northrop fighter jet. What is this? This is the determination and ability to win in danger, at least I think so.
At the end of last year, the world aviation community disclosed a piece of news that Iran announced in a public ceremony a "so-called" production line for the manufacture of indigenous Kowsar-1 coach fighter jets, and sworn the country’s self-sufficiency. The time was the announcement by US President Trump. The day before further sanctions against Iran. According to "Aviation Weekly", the Kowsar-1 project had been disclosed a few months before the announcement by the Iranian Ministry of Defense. The Iranian Aircraft Manufacturing Industry Corporation stated that the project was not focused on "cloning" the manufacturing of Northrop F-5E/ The F "Tiger II" fighter is an upgrade of 58 "Tiger II" aircraft currently in service in the Iranian Air Force. In view of the situation in Iran, these fighters may be in service until the 2040s and will be upgraded to take on air combat missions for the next 10 years.
"Aviation Weekly" introduced that the Iranian Air Force (IRIAF) is currently equipped with 325 jet fighters. The most combat and maintenance capabilities are 44 F-5E and 14 F-5F fighters. The 58 "Tiger II" fighters were exported to Iran in accordance with the US foreign arms sales agreement in the 1970s, when they were provided to Iran as a transitional model before the delivery of the first 140 Loma F-16 A/B fighters in 1984. .
However, after the fall of Iran’s secular system, after we no longer see Iranian women dressing up like this, wearing long trousers and headscarves to participate in the Asian Games, Iran suspended all military cooperation projects with the United States. As a result, F- The 5E/F fighter has become a US-made fighter that has served in Iran for 40 years and is still the main force of the Iranian Air Force.
The Western aviation community is curious about how Iran has guaranteed these fighter jets to fly for 40 years after the United States cut off the supply chain for so many years. The most acceptable answer is reverse engineering to maintain the modernization of fighter jets. From this we can see that Iran’s defense industry is not weak, and reverse engineering is not something that any country can do. I think India cannot do it. The picture of Kayvan Tavakkoli shows that in August 2018, Iran tested the first prototype of the Kowsar project, which actually proved this speculation.
Iran has launched the Saeghe-80 project, and the former Northrop engineers and designers have upgraded the fuselage of its F-5E/F fighter. In addition, "Aviation Weekly" also believes that Iran once sent a team to cooperate with China National Aviation Technology Import and Export Corporation (Catic) to upgrade the avionics system and weapon system. The name of the project is very interesting, called Silk Road II (SR.II) . Regardless of whether this rumor is true or not, the reality is that the Iranian Air Force’s F-5E/F fighter jets are still the main force of the Iranian Air Force after 40 years of import, flying.
There is chill in the wind, your appreciation is a fire
