Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Iran to Co-Produce Su-30 Fighter Jet

Iran to Co-Produce Su-30 Fighter Jet

In a recent events of confirmation, Iran’s defense minister revealed that Iran is set to receive the Su-30 fighter jet. However, the future date of delivery stays undisclosed. General Hossein Dehqhan, announced that Iran will sign a contract with Russia for the co-production of an undisclosed number of Russian-made Sukhoi Su-30 multirole fighter aircraft. This will form a strong strategic relationship of Iran with Russia. Su 30 jets have been globally acclaimed for its agility and maneuverability.

Should the deal go through, Iran will be the second country in the world after India to produce a variation of the Su-30 fighter jet locally. However, as of now, it still remains unclear in what capacity Tehran will be involved in the aircraft production process.

A source within Iran's Defence Ministry revealed that contract could be signed as early as February 16, when the Iranian defense minister will arrive in Moscow to discuss the deliveries of S-300 air defense systems and the Sukhoi Su-30 aircraft.

“Minister Dehgan is taking a number of the Defense Ministry’s representatives to the Russian capital to meet with their Russian colleagues and other highly-ranked officials,” the source notes.

“The last stages will be discussed of delivering Iran the S-300 complex, the first part of which should arrive before the end of next month, and the second by the end of June. Minister Dehqwan will also discuss the delivery of Su-30 airplanes because the Defense Ministry believes the Iranian Air Force needs this type of plane. We’ve moved far in these discussions of purchases and I think that during the upcoming visit a contract will be signed,” according to the source.

It is unclear what variant of the Sukhoi Su-30 Iran is interested in, nor how many aircraft it wants to procure and within what timeframe. During his recent television interview, General Hossein Dehqhan, also rejected the idea of procuring Chengdu  J-10 lightweight multirole fighter aircraft from China.

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