Envoy: Iran finalized buying Sukhoi fighter jets from Russia
Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the UN announced here on Friday that Iran has finalized buying Sukhoi fighter jets from Russia.
It added that after the end of the Iraqi-imposed war in the year 1988 Iran asked a number of countries to sell fighter jets to Iran, but among them only Russia accepted the proposed request, saying that Moscow is ready for delivering the fighter jets to Iran.
Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the UN has also reiterated that the Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets were technically approved by the Iranian aviation experts, and therefore, in October, 2020, and after the end of the limitation for Iran to buy conventional warfare, according to UN Resolution 2231, Iran finalized the contract to buy those planes.
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Iran unveils homegrown Yasin advanced training jet
The second prototype of the Iranian-developed Yasin training jet and its mass production line were unveiled in the presence of the Minister of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics of Iran Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Gharaei Ashtiani.
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In Satellite Images and Video, Hidden Clues About an Iranian Air Force Upgrade
On Feb. 7, Iran unveiled a new underground Air Force base called “Eagle 44” in a slick propaganda video. On the wall was a clue hiding in plain sight: a poster with silhouettes of fighter jets. One in particular stands out. It’s situated front and center, and is in the shape of a state-of-the-art military jet that Iran currently doesn’t possess, but which officials claim Russia is in the process of selling to them.
Satellite imagery analysis also reveals what appears to be an at-scale model — what experts call a mockup — of the same type of fighter jet at the base. Combined, the details suggest two things about Iran’s plans: Officials are optimistic about the delivery of these planes, and they could be intending to use this air base to house some of them.
The other aircraft mockup is one that is currently in the Iranian Air Force’s inventory. “The Su-35 is not, but is expected in early 2023 as Tehran continues to support Russia’s war in Ukraine,“ Mr. Biggers added.
Both of the likely mockups appeared at their current location in January while construction on the base was still ongoing. They have not been moved since, according to satellite images reviewed by The Times. The air base may still be undergoing some upgrades in preparation for the possible delivery. An existing tunnel entrance seen in the video footage may be too narrow to accommodate the wide Russian jets. But The Times’s analysis of the site shows that another tunnel, perhaps for larger planes, is still under construction.
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Construction at the underground facility has been going on for 10 years. Landsat images courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey processed by Sentinel Hub.
A Times review of historical satellite imagery of the area found that activity started in August 2013, with excavation work on the underground facility visible by early 2014. As of February 2023, five tunnel entrances leading to the underground shelters were visible.
It is unclear if the intended use of the underground facility has always been for an Air Force base. Construction of the airstrip didn’t begin until May 2021, almost eight years after the first observed activity at the site, and is ongoing.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/17/worl ... -jets.html