Iran says homegrown heavy fighter jet will make first flight next year

Iran’s new defense minister, Mehrdad Akhlaghi, said after winning a parliamentary vote of confidence that a fully Iranian-made heavy fighter jet will take off next year. His plan also includes upgrading missiles, drones and air defenses and moving factories to secure sites in the mountains.

Iran’s new Minister of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, Mehrdad Akhlaghi, said on Sunday, after receiving a vote of confidence from parliament, that a heavy fighter jet built by the Defense Ministry’s Aviation Organization will take off next year. He stressed that the aircraft is “entirely Iranian-made.”

Under the announced program, ground tests and taxi trials will continue this year, with the first flight planned for the next Iranian year, which begins in March 2027. The aircraft’s name and specifications were not disclosed. Some accounts described it as a “heavy bomber,” but Iranian media used the term “heavy fighter.”

Iranian Defense Minister Mehrdad Akhlaghi

A 22-month program

The minister’s program calls for improving the accuracy, range and destructive power of surface-to-surface and cruise missiles; developing long-range, stealth, combat, reconnaissance and counter-drone UAVs; military satellites; and stronger air defenses. It also covers manned and unmanned vessels, subsurface capabilities, electronic warfare, radar and cyber.

Akhlaghi said new factories will be built not in previous locations but “in mountains and secure structures,” drawing on ministry facilities and all of the country’s knowledge-based companies. The plan targets outsourcing 75 percent of production this year and more than 85 percent next year. “We have our finger on the trigger, ready for war with the Zionists,” he said. The program also includes support for the “Resistance Front” and expanded defense cooperation and exports.

Who is Akhlaghi?

Akhlaghi has spent his career in the defense and aerospace industries, working in research from 1984 to 1994 before moving into production. His name is linked to Iran’s Aerospace Industries Organization and Defense Industries Organization, and according to Tabnak, he has appeared on U.S. and EU sanctions lists.

Iran unveiled the domestically developed Kowsar fighter in 2018 and delivered a batch to its air force in 2020, while military officials have said since 2020 that work had begun on a homegrown heavy fighter.

Iran says homegrown heavy fighter jet will make first flight next year