Iran unveils new Fourth-generation fighter jet name ” Kowsar”

Iran has unveiled a new domestic built “Kowsar” fourth-generation fighter jet at the National Defence Industry exhibition in Tehran

According to Iran a new fighter jet comes with advanced avionics and fire control systems and will enhance its deterrence capabilities in confronting Washington.

The aircraft is named Kowsar, which in Islamic meaning refers to a river in paradise and is also the title of a chapter in the Muslim holy book, the Koran.

The plane has been described as a fourth-generation fighter and is reported: “100 percent indigenously made.”

At the ceremony, President Hassan Rouhani said Iran’s defense program is aimed at deterrence vis-a-vis the United States.

“The enemy should see how expensive an invasion of Iran would be,” he said. “Why does not the U.S wage a military attack on us? Because of our power.”

President Hassan Rouhani saying that Tehran’s military strength was only designed to deter enemies and was aimed at creating “lasting peace”.

Images broadcast on state television on Tuesday showed Rouhani sitting in the cockpit of the new “Kowsar” fourth-generation fighter at the National Defence Industry exhibition in Tehran

The report said Iran will also manufacture a single-seat version of the fighter jet. It said the aircraft is capable of flying at an altitude of 45,000 feet and with the speed of Mach 1.2. Mach 1 would be equal to the speed of sound.

The plane was first publicly announced on Saturday by Defence Minister Amir Hatami, who had said it would be unveiled on Wednesday.

He gave few details of the project, focusing instead on Iran’s efforts to upgrade its missile defenses.

Hatami said the defence programme was motivated by memories of the missile attacks Iran suffered during its eight-year war with Iraq in the 1980s, and by repeated threats from Israel and the United States that “all options are on the table” in dealing with Iran.

“We have learned in the [Iran-Iraq] war that we cannot rely on anyone but ourselves. Our resources are limited and we are committed to establishing security at a minimum cost,” he said in a televised interview.

The US has sold hundreds of billions of dollars of weapons to Iran’s regional rivals, but has demanded that Tehran curb its defence programmes, and is in the process of reimposing crippling sanctions in a bid to force its capitulation.