[ALMASDARNEWS] The F-5 itself may be an aging design, but for the purposes of regional air defense and training (or in Syria offense) it may be good enough.If Iran has managed to integrate newer avionics and radar systems, the F-5 knock-off could be a threat to be wary of. And Iran begins to produce the fighter in numbers, their aerospace manufacturing base will only improve.
Iran has touted its allegedly homegrown ’Kowsar’ jet fighter, finally unveiled to the public on Tuesday, as a new contender in the arena of air-to-air combat. But the new aircraft was immediately met with wave of criticism from defense industry observers who saw the aircraft as a mere copy of the venerable F-5 which, although a sturdy airframe still in use by the United States military, is considered an antiquated product of the age of slide rules and hand drawings.
After all, boasting about a broadsword in the age of the machine gun is simply an invitation for ridicule.
However,
facts are stubborn; statistics are more pliable...
behind the veil of Iran’s geopolitical misdirection and copyright ignorance sits a prime example of the industry that Tehran has managed to foster despite decades of sanctions ‐ and a vision of a homegrown aviation industry to come.
This is not the first time Iran has shown off a new weapon for propaganda purposes. The roundly-mocked Qahar stealth fighter model presented as the real deal in 2013 was an embarrassing unforced error by the Iranian military-industrial complex, one originally presented to show the Iranian people that their government could defend them against the best in the world, even if it really can’t.