So this is the aircraft the Iranian Air Force Chief of Staff intends to use to “punish” Israel if that country attacks their nuclear program?
Slap a dihedral tail on a forty year old airframe, paint it up like a Blue Angel and call that progress?
Fighting IAF Eagles and Vipers? After getting through/around the USAF and USN?
They’d better build a lot of them. A lot. More then they think.
A lot.
This is madness.
(Madness? This. Is. Persia!)
Update: Hey there, Stumbleuponers. Anybody want to tell me why this ancient (and not particularly impressive) post has become so popular of late? Not like I’m complaining, but…
Not to say that us undergrads could do better, but still. This resembles something I drew as a kid, taking an existing aircraft and changing it.
I wonder the justification for the V tail? Doesn’t look like there would be much interrupted airflow over the F-5’s tail from the body, so there wouldn’t be an increase in controlablity (take this with a grain of salt mind you, although I’m a senior I still feel like a sophmore, ‘learned fool’)
If you look at some of the pics… the one with both of them flying in formation… one has rounded intakes… the other squared off. Perhaps they are not as close to a production model as they’d like you to believe.
[...] Looks like Lex has made his opinion known [...]
Methinks the Iranians are a bit obsessed. Here’s another photo of an Iranian f-5, painted up to look oddly like another almost-as-famous-as-the-Blue-Angels US flight demonstration plane:
Sorry, comments won’t allow photos. Just click on this link
I see it’s gotcha shakin’, duzzinit.
They asked Michael Vick and found out that when headed into a dogfight, you have to bring dogs.
The big show of force will be Thirty-Something Tomcats once the Persians complete their search spare parts. These A/C will all sport decals reading “Powered by E-Bay”.
What’s whacky about all this is they did a credible job with their missile technology via their proxy Hezbollah last Summer. How did Almondine-Nutjob get so bad so quick and unveil this no-tech display?
Iraq had more of a threat and buried it in the sand.
Too funny. Hard to take these guys serious when they do this kind of stuff.
the isrealis will refer to the battle afterward as “the great persian skeet shoot”.
They should paint them red. The ‘ed uns go faster.
No, no, high-gloss jet black like the MiG-28 in “Top Gun.” Looks real mean that way.
Judging by the size of that centerline fuel tank in the one photo, they may have more in common with F-18As and Cs than we think.
The irony is that there are problems thousands, if not millions of Iranians and sympathisers reading the same thing and proudly thinking ‘now we’ll show them infidels!’
The chumps.
Ah yes, a ‘riced-up’ F-5 — their version of a (not so)smart weapon I suppose…
- SJS
Yet they only need a few nukes and the rest of the world will be safely deterred no matter how many hundreds of those planes they build.
Here kitty kitty kitty.
You all are assuming that this show is for our consumption. I would posit that this “show of force” is intended for a domestic audience.
Kinda like when my dog barks at the 25hp lawn tractor; he knows he can’t win, he’s just posturing to keep the cat from getting grand ideas.
Bring it on beady…..already.
For you civilians who believe there are aliens in Area 51 and can’t recognize snark:
Them “Cats will never fly again..Ebay sustainment is a pipedream. That’s a loser too, ol’beady.
b2
For all malign contributions to the world, I wouldn’t give a fig about the Iranian regime – it can’t forever keep its thumb on an emerging generation of young people with no memory of the shah, SAVAK or the revolution. They don’t need nukes for deterrence.
And I do not think that’s why they’re after them.
Funny thing yesterday at Drudge – turns out Ahmadinejad was genuinely suprised to hear that New Yorkers in particular and Americans in general were outraged at the idea of him visiting Ground Zero. Just. Didn’t. Get it.
You wonder what intel reports he’s reading.
You wonder what intel reports he’s reading.
Mayhaps those prepared by Columbia Scool of Journalism grads?
- SJS
This one looks the the Thunderbirds.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Apbat.jpg
What is up with these paint jobs?
Was speaking with an Iranian who said it’s common to slightly mis-pronounce “Ahmadinejad” and it translates from Farsi into ” Man from the crazy place” – he was hopeful for his relations in Iran, but very glad he emigrated.
Cap’n,
As a (recent) aviator and a former TOP GUN instructor, what are your opinions of the training and capability of the Iranian Air Force?
To the untrained eye, one must have suspicions we have been following whatever airborne training flights they have conducted. I have doubts that any air force could match our aviators in a real combat situation.
BKT(SS), Mark Nelson,
That’s an interesting picture, seems you found one of the amazin’ levitatin’ Irannian fighters!
Lex knows my eyes ain’t much to speak for, but I swears I sees daylight between them mainmount tires and their shadows…
What’s with the bugscreens over the intakes? Will big insects take out the engines?
I guess I don’t fully follow the critique. Doesn’t an F-5 clone make all the sense in the world for an air force with limited technology and experience? Especially if half the purpose is to jump start a domestic capability?
If the choice is between 100 home-made F-5 clones and 20 Mig-29s, seems like it ain’t a bad option.
Gonna take a ride into the danger zone……
Sorry, got lost in a “Top-Gun” memory. Oh well, all I have to say is that it all looks the same burning on the desert floor after the F-15’s take them all out.
“This one looks the the Thunderbirds.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Apbat.jpg
What is up with these paint jobs?”
The Imperial Irananian Airforce Golden Crown flying team last flew in 1978. The photos are 30 years old photos of US made F-5E’s sold to the Shah.
The YF-17 was originally based on the F-5E.
Of all the airplanes the Blue Angels used, I liked the A-4s best.
Well, except for the Bearcats, but that was before I existed.
hey
i’m from iran.
they said this aircarft will defenc us against amerecian f22.f15.16.and also f35. lool
its good hope for people but its not for militarys
why they use their fucking oil money to make some thing like this…they can overhall tomcats or buy new jets from russia…but or stupid leaders are fuck every thing here..and they cant get a right chice at all.
country absolutly fucked up at this 2 years.that nejad is working.
i thing the warr is soon alos i believe we got nuclear bombs..already.
the last warr in the history.
christ is against iran..god is against iran..all the world is agaist iran. BUT who is with iran??some devils from dictatoric country like chavez ..and syria and sons of bitchs in hezboallah..also some palestinian.that are absolutly greec.
i thing christ is coming…lool
Majid,
For what it’s worth, it makes me glad to know you can see through your governments bullshit. I think the people who would pay most dearly for a war in Iran would be the long suffering ordinary Iranian people, and also the least deserving of further punishment.
Majid,
Good luck to you and yours brother. And pray there’s no war, nor any reason for war. For all our sakes.
The Persians are a great and storied race of people. But I have to agree, the leadership seems more concerned with holding you down than setting you free.
They won’t last forever.
“Doesn’t an F-5 clone make all the sense in the world for an air force with limited technology and experience? ”
The US built the F-5 as an “opposing force” trainer.
What good is a fighter jet that the US has been practicing blowing out of the sky for 40 years?
The F-5’s are nothing more than expensive clay pidgeons.
“This one looks the the Thunderbirds.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Apbat.jpg
What is up with these paint jobs?”
Those pictures are from the time of the Shah…the Imperial Iranian Air Force Golden Crown(the shah’s version of the thunderbirds) last flew in 1978.
Oh, I can imagine all sorts of troublesome applications of an F-5 clone or a dozen.
I haven’t seen too many armed clay pigeons show up unexpectedly.
Flatlander,
“I haven’t seen too many armed clay pigeons show up unexpectedly.”
There is a NATO AWACS FOB in Turkey, the Saudi’s have had AWACS in the air 24/7 since the Iran/Iraq War…I would assume the US is flying AWACS over Iraq…Iranian F-5’s won’t be showing up anywhere unexpectedly.
Could they have gotten their hands on an F-20?
Two engines, Patrick. F-20 had a single GE F110, as I recall. Same as the F-16N.
Do not under estimate the jet fighter which you know a little about it. in iran- iraq war ( which basically US had fought iran for 8 years ) iranian proved to be a fomidable nation. iran is rising now . Those who make fun of this fighter will get respect for it when a couple of missles stick up to their a$$ from this aircraft. . sorry about my language.
You can believe what you’d like, brother. I’ll believe the evidence of my eyes and my experience. This is an only slightly larger F-5 – an aircraft which I have hundreds of hours of time fighting against US aircraft in training – with split tails.
The size of the fuselage means that it can’t carry much gas – Its range is restricted. The size of the intakes means that its engines are small – That means low volumetric air flow, e.g. thrust-to-weight. It’s underpowered. The shape of the wingform means that it will go fast (for a short period of time, see above) but bleed like a stuck pig in a turning fight. And above all, the size of the nose means that the radar will be low power and low range.
You have to survive to the merge to stick a missile up anyone’s tailpipe. These guys will never get there. Lambs to the slaughter.
The IRIAF had US equipment and US trained pilots to fight Iraq, by the way. Experience and technology count.
why every body care about gas while there is inventores can covert the power and using sun light as solar to move the machines and aeroplanes and shuttles .
but be honest with you the energy never disappear but it can convert so the human like the power to kill each other againest nature rule
our islam always says to keep humanity and dont kill any body for nothing as zionesm rule the rule should respect the human factor and make the nature to serve people not hurting them or making war .
can we raise animals and do planting for happeness with harmfull any body and stay away about iron (weapons ) and prepar our selves to serve the hole world withot hurting us the aerospace world good for travling and knowledge
There was a report of a ‘new’ iranian fighter going coming off the assembly line in 2009. I did a google, flipped to images and a picture, on the first page of image results, of an unknown plane in Blue Angels colors caught my eye. I followed the link and it took me to parrotheadjeff which linked to this page.
parrothead url:http://parrotheadjeff.com/blog/archives/342/iran-copies-us-aircraft-blue-angels-paint-scheme/
Thanks for the info.
FWIW, this aircraft appears to be a domestically produced HESA Saeqeh, which was introduced in 2007. It’s not much advanced over the F-5, but at least it’s not a 40-year-old airplane.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HESA_Saeqeh