Iran’s Army Receives 3 Homegrown Kowsar Jets

By Staff, Agencies

In a ceremony on Thursday morning, the Iran Aviation Industries Organization [IAIO] delivered three ‘Kowsar’ jets to the Iranian Army.

The ceremony was attended by Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami, Iranian Army Commander Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, Commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force [IRIAF] Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh, and Head of Plan and Budget Organization Mohammad Bagher Nobakht.

The domestically-made fighter/trainer jet ‘Kowsar’, mainly developed by the Iran Aviation Industries Organization, was unveiled back in July 2017 and showcased to an international audience at MAKS air show in Moscow.

The twin-engined, two-seat Kowsar jet successfully ran through test-flights on August 21, 2018, in the presence of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. The event was part of the programs planned to commemorate Iran’s Day of Defense Industry.

‘Kowsar’ enjoys many advanced features including an indigenous avionic and fire-control system, multi-function digital displays, ballistic weapon calculator, an advanced HUD system to increase strike precision, and an advanced multifunction fire control radar to boost the identification of targets and threats.

‘Kowsar’ is an advanced fighter jet with a Close Air Support [CAS] role that has made Iran one of the few countries with the know-how of designing and manufacturing such jets equipped with 4th generation avionic and fire-control systems.

The jet is being mass-produced with one seat and two seats, the latter of which can be used for both military and training purposes.

Brigadier General Mohammad Zalbeigi, Commander of Tehran-based Shahid Lashkari airbase, told Mehr News Agency in late May that “The fighter jet enjoys the state-of-the-art equipment and is able to use precision weapons. All the weapons that can be assumed to be used by an advanced fighter, either air-to-air missiles, bombs, or air-to-ground missiles, have been included in Kowsar.”

“The country is mass-producing Kowsar fight jet,” he added, noting that these fighters will be deployed where ever the country feels they are required to face threats or perform operations.