Defence Official: Qaher 313 home-made fighter jet to protect persian gulf

A senior Iranian defense ministry official said that the main mission of the country's newly unveiled fighter jet, Qaher 313, would be protecting security in the Persian Gulf.On February 2, Iran unveiled an advanced home-made aircraft, named Qaher 313, in a ceremony attended by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.Addressing a group of Iranian soldiers on Tuesday, Deputy Defense Minister General Majid Bokayee pointed to the confused remarks made by the US military analysts about the features and specifications of the aircraft, and said that enemies claimed the aircraft is just a paper model but later they said that it is an aircraft designed by the Islamic Republic for anti-chopper missions."That was the Americans' analysis, but we bravely declare that Qaher, (designed and developed) at a cost of $2 to 3 million, is a Basiji (volunteer) aircraft to protect the Persian Gulf," Bokayee noted.In February, the aircraft's project manager told FNA that Qaher 313 has a "unique" structure and will be armed with home-made weapons and equipments in the future, adding that it enjoys such capabilities which will stun the enemies in battlefield."The new aircraft has a unique face in terms of shape and structure and its design is unique in the world," Managing-Director of Iran's Aviation Industries Company Hassan Parvaneh said at the time.He added that the aircraft's broken wing design has gifted it the ability to fly in different low, mid and high altitudes."Of course, the specific capability of Qaher is its capability of flying at low altitudes and that is a capability seen in no other similar aircraft."Addressing a ceremony to unveil Qaher 313 on February 2, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said all production stages, including designing and manufacturing of the new aircraft had been carried out by Iranian experts at the Aviation Industries Organization of the Defense Ministry.As regards the specification of Qaher 313, the minister said, "The advanced aircraft with an advanced appearance has a very small Radar Cross Section (RCS) and is capable of operating and flying in low-altitude."The minister added that high-tech materials and electro-ionic systems were used in the aircraft which is capable of landing and taking off from short runways.Vahidi noted that Qaher 313 enjoys high combat capability and can carry home-made weapons.Vahidi also told reporters on the sidelines of the ceremony that Qaher 313 is able to rival with the most advanced fighter jets in shape and structure, adding that its shape has gifted the aircraft small RCS.Radar cross section (RCS) is a measure of how detectable an object is with a Radar. A larger RCS indicates that an object is more easily detected. An object reflects a limited amount of radar energy.