Iran Expands Fleet of Home-Made Fighter Jets

Five more domestically-made Saeqeh (Thunderbolt) fighter jets joined the country’s Air Force fleet Saturday morning.

The five fighter jets joined the Air Force fleet after they were tested in a ceremony in Isfahan attended by Commander of the Iranian Army Major General Ataollah Salehi, Iran’s Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi, Commander of the Iranian Army Air Force General Hassan Shah Safi and other high-ranking commanders of the Air Force.

Iran displayed the first squadron of Saeqeh (Thunderbolt) fighter jets produced by its defense industries in an air show staged during military parades at the beginning of the Week of Sacred Defense, marking Iranian sacrifices during the 8 years of Iraqi imposed war on Iran in 1980s.

Referring to the completion of “a squadron of Saeqeh fighters” by Iranian experts, Shahsafi told FNA at the time that Iran could boost its position in the arena of aerial power by the move and that successful fulfillment of such a task by the Iranian Air Force and Defense Ministry showed their proper management in such an important and modern filed.

“The mass-production of the home-made Saeqeh fighters means that we have moved past all the gorges of designing and building of this fighter and we will strive to use more high-tech and updated models in our fleet in the future,” he added.