Iran, Russia to Join Hands to Build Fighter Jets
© Sputnik/ Kirill Kallinikov
10:58 23.08.2015(updated 12:18 23.08.2015)
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20150823/1026084164/iran-russia-fighter-jets-development.html

Iran and Russia will cooperate in the “joint designing and manufacturing” of
combat aircraft, the Islamic Republic’s defense minister announced on
Saturday.

Briefing reporters in Tehran, Brigadier General Hossein Dehghan said Russia
had agreed to cooperate with Iran after learning about the Islamic Republic’s
capabilities, Tasnim news agency reported.

“In the field of (manufacturing) fighter jets, we will not develop such
cooperation with any country other than Russia,” General Dehghan emphasized.

The minister said Tehran has military ties with 35 countries including
China, Iraq, Russia, Oman, India, Pakistan and Belarus, in different fields,
such as technical expertise and engineering, maintenance, and the sale of
military systems and weapons.

He further touched on Iran’s progress in the aviation industry, saying
Tehran has plans to sell a range of homegrown Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
(UAVs) to foreign customers.

In recent years, Iran has made great achievements in its defense sector and
has attained self-sufficiency in producing essential military equipment and
systems, the agency reported.

Tehran has always assured other nations that its military power poses no
threat to the regional countries, saying that the Islamic Republic’s defense
doctrine is entirely based on deterrence.