Iran Displays Models of Home-Made Fighter Jet, Explorer Rocket in Rallies

Iran demonstrated the models of its new home-made fighter jet and explorer rocket in Tehran’s Azadi Square on Sunday as hundreds of thousands of people rallied towards the square to mark the 34th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution.

Iran’s new fighter jet dubbed as Qaher 313 and Pishgam (pioneer) explorer rocket were displayed to huge masses of the people who rallied to Tehran’s Azadi square today to celebrate the anniversary of the country’s Islamic Revolution back in 1979.

The people who had congregated in Azadi square welcomed the displaying of the Iranian achievements and cheered as they passed by the models.

Millions of Iranians in Tehran and other cities took to the streets on Sunday to show their unconditional support for the Islamic Republic through staging massive rallies on February 11th, marking the 34th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran.

Huge masses of people from all walks of life converged on streets and squares all over the country to express their support for the cause and ideals of the Islamic Revolution.

A large number of foreign reporters have covered the Bahman 22 (February 10) rallies.

In Tehran, demonstrators then congregated at the Azadi Square, Tehran’s main square and the site of major national rallies over the past three decades.

Last week, the advanced Iranian aircraft Qaher 313 was unveiled in a special ceremony attended by President Ahmadinejad.

Addressing a ceremony to unveil Qaher 313, Vahidi said all production stages, including designing and manufacturing of the new aircraft were carried out by Iranian experts at the Aviation Industries Organization of the Defense Ministry.

As regards the specification of Qaher 313, the minister said, “The advanced aircraft with an advanced appearance has a very small Radar Cross Section (RCS) and is capable of operating and flying in low-altitude.”

The minister added that high-tech materials and electro-ionic systems were used in the aircraft which is capable of landing and taking off from short runways.

Last month, Iran announced that it has sent a monkey into the space on the back of Pishgam (Pioneer) explorer rocket and that it has brought back and recovered the living cargo.

The Iranian defense minister said his ministry’s Aerospace Industries Organization sent the living creature into space aboard an indigenous bio-capsule as a prelude to sending humans into space.

The Aerospace Industries Organization said the capsule was sent to an orbit beyond 120km in altitude and carried out telemetry of the environmental data records.

The explorer rocket was launched by the Aerospace Industries Organization and it returned to the Earth after reaching the desired speed and altitude, and the living creature (monkey) was retrieved and found alive.

In mid-March 2011, Iran’s Space Agency (ISA) announced the launch of the Kavoshgar-4 rocket carrying a test capsule designed to house the monkey.

The capsule had been unveiled in February 2011 by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, along with four new prototypes of home-built satellites.

At the time, Director of Iran Space Agency (ISA) Hamid Fazeli called the launch of a large animal into space as the first step towards sending a man into space, which Tehran says is scheduled for 2020.

Iran has already sent small animals into space – a rat, turtles and worms – aboard a capsule carried by its Kavoshgar-3 rocket in 2010.

The Islamic republic, which first put a satellite into orbit in 2009, has outlined an ambitious space program and has, thus far, made giant progress in the field despite western sanctions and pressures against its advancement.

Iran has taken wide strides in aerospace. The country sent the first biocapsule of living creatures into space in February 2011, using its home-made Kavoshgar-3 (Explorer-3) carrier.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced in 2010 that Iran plans to send astronauts into space in 2024. But, later he said that the issue had gone under a second study at a cabinet meeting and that the cabinet had decided to implement the plan in 2019, five years earlier than the date envisaged in the original plan.