Iranian "Thunder" F-18 rival comes into service

[Ahknaton]

Something tells me the Iranians are slightly overselling this...

Iran produces ‘own F-18’

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=17387

http://www.middle-east-online.com/pictures/big/_17387_Iran_fighter.jpg

Tehran’s ‘Thunder’ manufactured domestically, ‘should outperform’ US equivalent.


TEHRAN - Iran on Wednesday said it has developed a new warplane named "Thunder," which it described as similar to the American F-18 fighter jet.

The fighter jet is "similar to the F-18 fighter jet, but it is more capable and has been manufactured domestically," the commander of the Iranian army General Attollah Salehi was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA.

Iranian state television reported that the jet "is able to fire rockets and also to drop bombs and is equipped with an advanced radar system.

"The fighter jet Saegheh (Thunder), after successful military operations and accurately firing air-to-surface rockets in the Zolfaghar Blow maneuvers, came into the service of the Iranian air force today," the report said.

The air force, army and navy have been showing off their capabilities and new hardware for the last month in the Zolfaghar Blow war games, which come amid mounting international concern over Tehran's nuclear programme.

The report added "the plane, which has flown dozens of experimental flights during the last year, joined the air force with full fighting capacity."

Salehi told IRNA the jet was "designed, remodeled, optimized and made more capable by our engineers," and added that "no country has aided us in its production."

On Wednesday Iran also announced it has developed a 2,000 pound guided bomb named Ghased, or "Messenger," aimed at enhancing its defensive capabilities.

"Within the framework of enhancing our defense capabilities and in accordance with our deterrent principles, we have designed and manufactured a 2,000 pound (900-kilogram) guided bomb," Iranian Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.

A guided bomb typically uses laser technology to more accurately hit its target and is a weapon commonly used by the world's air forces.

US President George W. Bush on Tuesday called Iran's leaders "tyrants" as dangerous as Al-Qaeda terrorists and said they must not be allowed to get nuclear weapons -- "the tools of mass murder."

Tehran has insisted that it seeks only civilian nuclear power, but is facing a US drive for sanctions on the UN Security Council after missing a deadline ordering it to halt sensitive uranium enrichment operations.

[Ahknaton]

Looks very similar to an F-5 Tiger:

http://www.bluejacket.com/usn/images/ac/f5_northrop_tiger2_vfa127.jpg

[Aistulf]

http://i3.tinypic.com/2afewbn.jpg

[OVERWATCH]

F-18 rival? laughable.

How many hours of flying time do pilots in the Iranian Air Force get? It's pretty accepted fact that Iranian military combat pilots are vastly inferior to their western counterparts.

Iran inherited many state of the art F-15s from the Shah's regime, yet during the Iran-Iraq war they were employed with ww1 style doctrine using only cannon, because those pilots and groundcrews lacked the skill necessary to use advanced missile armaments. They would have been better off with some old ww2 fighters. Training has undoubtably improved from this abysmal state, but their pilots would be nothing more than fast-moving targets for US naval aviators.

September 8, 2006: (http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htairfo/articles/20060908.aspx) Iran has shown off a modified American F-5 fighter and proclaimed this new "Saegheh" as similar to the American F-18 jet fighter. This is not the first time Iran has run a stunt like this. But even with a redesigned tail and better electronics, the 1960s era F-5 is still a low cost, and low performance, aircraft. The F-5E, which the Iranians had when the Islamic revolution took over in 1979, is an 11 ton aircraft, with a max speed of 1,700 kilometers an hour, and a range of some 1,400 kilometers. It was armed with two 20mm cannon, and could carry about three tons of missiles and bombs. The Iranians have taken the basic F-5 frame and rebuilt it to hold two Russian engines. The Chinese did the same thing, and produced the J-8 (a twin engine MiG-21) that turned out to be not worth the effort.

Although the Iranians are using Russian components (if only because these are better than Chinese ones), they probably had technical assistance (for a price) from China. The Chinese have a lot of experience reverse engineering Russian warplanes, and developing variations. The Chinese are getting away from that, because they finally realized that all they ended up with was a lot of crap fighters. Now they are building a new air force with expensive, and high tech, fighters imported from Russia, or built under license.

The Iranians have become obsessed with these "propaganda weapons," where they hack something together from an existing Russian or American system, and proclaim it to be a "designed and manufactured in Iran." It's all rather pathetic, and it all began during the 1980s, when Iran and Iraq were fighting a nasty war. Some of the hacks worked, after a fashion. Iran created a longer range SCUD missile by the simple expedient of lengthening the missile with a larger fuel tank. This changed the flight characteristics of the missile, but since these things were being fired at city size (as in Baghdad) targets, it didn't matter. Actually, the Iranians didn't really need the longer range missiles, because Baghdad was pretty close to the Iranian border. Iran actually got the technology for these SCUD mods from North Korea, but Iranian press releases always touted the achievement as being the result of Iranian scientists and engineers. Also during the 1980s, Iran manufactured chemical weapons (mainly mustard gas). This was crude stuff, but the technology was fairly simple, and has gotten better in the last twenty years. However, Iran does not export any of its chemical weapons.

In the 1990s, Iran began building, or modifying, Russian armored vehicles. They also built a clone of the F-5E, calling it the Azarakhsh. The Iranians had dozens of damaged F-5s from their war with Iraq, and they reported that they had repaired, or rebuilt (into Azarakhsh) many of these.

Iran does have a large arms industry, and exports weapons to over fifty countries. But none of those fantasy weapons are exported. No, the stuff that is shipped to foreign customers largely consists of knockoffs of Russian and Chinese small arms, mortars and rockets. Iran also has a reputation of selling to anyone. If you have the cash, Iran will deliver, no questions asked.

[Northern_Paladin]

Iran is getting ready for war. I don't think they are going to quite their nuclear ambitions without the use of Military force.

[Anti Social]

The Iranian Air Force has a weird mixture of American and Russian aircraft. I don't know about the American 'planes, but the most modern Russian one that they have is the Mig 29, which came out in the '70s. I expect to see Iran getting large amounts of modern Russian aircraft on credit fairly soon. Maybe some Russian pilots and instructors too. That will mess the American Z.O.G. imperial forces up.

[Negrotic Overlord]

Iran is getting ready for war.

They're provoking the Crusaders into attacking. It's in their longterm best interests.

[Sulla the Dictator]

What a joke.

[Ahknaton]

Why do we live in a world of double standards? Why are they not allowed a military while Americans spend US$500 billion a year on their military?
All systems of order are based on a double standard with regards to who is allowed to threaten and use force. That's why cops can walk around with guns and you can't. The state (or the enforcer of the status quo) must have a monopoly on the use of force or else order collapses. America is the policeman of the current world order. Not defending it, just saying that's the way it is.

[leondegrance]

F-18

http://perso.orange.fr/aeromil-yf/F18%20J5006%20en%20rejointe%20M.jpg

I like to see a dogfight between the two. I'd be surprised if Iran's craft as the computer sophistication (as well as weaponry) of the F-18.

[Sulla the Dictator]

Why do we live in a world of double standards? Why are they not allowed a military while Americans spend US$500 billion a year on their military?

:rolleyes:

No one says they can't have a military. What rational people are saying is that they should be embarassed by doing silly things like this.

[Niko Bellic]

Why do we live in a world of double standards? Why are they not allowed a military while Americans spend US$500 billion a year on their military?

We live in a world ruled by the aggressive use of force, and that will never change.

[Daniel Shays]

Iran shouldn't waste money trying to contest America in the air or sea. All available resources should be invested in armament conducive to guerilla warfare. The planes, attack boats, and submarines we have seen for the past six months are all propaganda, the leaders must understand that they can only win on the ground.

"You can kill ten of our men for every one we kill of yours. But even at those odds, you will lose and we will win." - Ho Chi Minh

[leondegrance]

Iran shouldn't waste money trying to contest America in the air or sea. All available resources should be invested in armament conducive to guerilla warfare. The planes, attack boats, and submarines we have seen for the past six months are all propaganda, the leaders must understand that they can only win on the ground.


I don't see America getting into a ground war with Iran, especially after the disaster that is Iraq. The US may use airpower, possibly tactical nukes against Iran's nuclear facilities.

[Jimbo Gomez]

America can and should just bomb their nuclear installations to smithereens. They have command of the air, only idiots would go in for a ground war and fight those savages on their home soil.

America has the weapons to pummel that country into submission if it'd be callous enough not to hold back. Going in for a ground war with that pansy attitude they display in Iraq would be the dumbest they can do.

[OVERWATCH]

Iran shouldn't waste money trying to contest America in the air or sea. All available resources should be invested in armament conducive to guerilla warfare. The planes, attack boats, and submarines we have seen for the past six months are all propaganda, the leaders must understand that they can only win on the ground.

"You can kill ten of our men for every one we kill of yours. But even at those odds, you will lose and we will win." - Ho Chi Minh

I agree.

Related:

Iran's Late Laser Bomb (http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htairw/articles/20060912.aspx)
September 12, 2006: Iran announced it has developed its first laser guided bomb. The 2,000 pound "Qassed" uses laser bomb technology pioneered by the United States four decades ago. Iran has had access to laser bomb technology, from American and Russian bombs they have possessed. The technology of guided bombs is not all that complex, and has been around since World War II. Thus Iran is believed to have had home made laser guided bombs for some time, but it has not publicized them. The reason may be development problems, which may explain why Iran has not tried to export the many high-tech Iranian made weapons it has announced.

[themistocles]

Wasn't it recently revealed that Iran's newest secret super weapon was just basically a rubber dingy hovercraft?

[Jimbo Gomez]

Wasn't it recently revealed that Iran's newest secret super weapon was just basically a rubber dingy hovercraft?


Those things, when manned with suicide terrorist crews, can really wreck havoc on a traditional carrier group.

[maxsnafu]

The planform of this aircraft contains no discernable stealth technology.
I bet it has a radar signature the size of a barn.

[Northern_Paladin]

America's F-22 Raptor would be Pwon the F-18 Iranian fighter. I'd say they are still some 20 years off American technology. America has a forminable air arsenal, which I am sure could devetate Iran if unleashed with out holding back. On the other hand intelligence sources say Iran is 4-5 years from developing a Nuke?

However wouldn't it be a good idea to strike first instead of waiting for Iran to announce it's Nuclear capablities.