Iran says here that it will soon unveil -- and fly -- its first domestically manufactured fighter jet.
(Source: Iran Defense Forum)
This is presumably a reference to a new version of the Northrop F-5F, potentially modified with the Russian RD-33 engine, Iranian radar and avionics, shoulder-mounted air intakes and -- most bizarrely -- a V-tail. I believe the program has been named Shafagh, but the new release calls it the Azarakhsh.
The program does not appear to demonstrate so much a leap in military capability but in domestic industrial prowess, assuming the aircraft can, indeed, fly.
Developing an indigenous aerospace manufacturing capability has become the hot new fad for countries on the US export control blacklist, with Iran leading the way. Last fall, Venezuela announced it was seeking to develop an indigenous industry to build military fighter trainers after the US blocked Brazil from exporting Super Tucanos to Caracas.
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