Reiterating the country prioritizing the development of defense systems over anything else, Iran today announced the development and unveiling of its new fighter jet next week. This announcement comes in light of rising tensions in the region between Iran and the Middle East and the United States, the latter of who has imposed sanctions on Iran after it struck down the Iranian Nuclear deal.
The new jet will be unveiled on the 22nd of August, on National Defense Industry Day. Stressing how important military and economic powers are to national security, Brigadier General Amir Hatami said that, “People will see it fly and the equipment designed for it.”
The new announcement comes soon after Iran’s Defense ministry announced that the Iranian navy would mount a new, locally developed, and advanced missile system on its warships.
The new defense system, subbed Bavar-373 is the locally manufactured version of the Russian S-300 surface-to-air missile system and is set to be operational sometime in the near future. Iran had also recently tested a new anti-ship ballistic missile in a continued effort to assert its military supremacy in the Strait of Hormuz.
These developments are likely to bolster Iran’s limited military capacity in the air, considering most of its fleet is constituted by ageing Russian and American models. The Iranian built fighter jet, Qaher 313 although expected to fill in the numbers in the air force, does not seem viable as a proper fighter jet in the eyes of many foreign analysts.
These developments are also likely to escalate simmering tensions between Iran and the United States of America, especially since August has seen the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IGRC) increase its military activity in the Persian Gulf.
