Iran has developed a domestic arms industry as international sanctions have prevented it from importing weapons.
On Tuesday, Iranian state television screened images of President Hassan Rouhani sitting in the “Kowsar” fighter aircraft. Designed and manufactured solely by Iranian military experts, the Kowsar is described as a fourth-generation fighter jet, which classifies it among military fighters in service from approximately 1980 to the present day.
“We have learned in the war that we cannot rely on anyone but ourselves. Our resources are limited and we are committed to establishing security at a minimum cost,” Defence Minister Amir Hatami said on Saturday at a ceremony launching the plane’s production.
Iran starts mass-producing locally designed fighter jet WATCH
The US has sold hundreds of billions of dollars of weapons to Iran’s regional rivals but has demanded that Tehran curb its defense programmes, and is in the process of reimposing crippling sanctions in a bid to force its capitulation.