Friday, September 25, 2020

Does Iran’s ‘Kowsar Fighter Jet’ Have A Chance Against Israeli F-35 Or U.S. F-22 Stealth Warplanes?

Iran's Kowsar Fighter Jet (Wikipedia)

EurAsian Times: Does Iran’s ‘Kowsar Fighter Jet’ Stand A Chance Against Israeli F-35 Stealth Warplanes?

How does Iran’s Kowsar jets compete against US & Israeli F-22 Raptors or F-35 Jets? According to experts, designed to perform close air support (CAS) and light attack operations, the fighters can also be used to support the training activities of Iranian pilots.

Amid decades of sanctions imposed on Iran which eventually forced Tehran to work on indigenous projects, including the “Kowsar” fighter jets that were finally delivered to the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force.

The fighters which have been labelled by critics as a mere copy of the US F-5s were unveiled as the newest contender in the arena of aerial combat last year. The first fighter jet to be developed in the country, Kowsar is a labelled as a fourth-generation fighter aircraft which has been designed and manufactured by Tehran-based Iran Aviation Industries Organization (IAIO).

The fighter jets which are designed to upgrade and strengthen Tehran’s aerial defence capabilities will now replace Iran’s ageing air fleet, most of which consist of fighters imported from the US and Russia.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: There are many parts of a fighter jet that make it formidable. In the case of Iran's Kowsar fighter jet, I suspect that its biggest weakness is its avionics.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

That’s no jet, that’s a Cow, Sir!

Anonymous said...

Maybe if they plan on trying to ram into the f-35's or something.....

B.Poster said...

Editor,

You "suspect" its biggest weakness is its avionics. Perhaps you are right but we do not "know." The only way to "know" would be to have an actual conflict. In such a situation, perhaps we have to go with our "gut." From what I have observed on this site, your "gut" has a reasonably good track record.

The question could be rephrased to read as follows: "do Israeli F-35 or US F-22 Stealth Warplanes stand a chance against Iran's 'Kowsar Fighter Jet?'"

We have strong reason to believe that there have been many challenges with the F-35 and the program is VERY expensive. Have these "bugs" been worked out? Also, there were reports that Russian warplanes bested US warplanes "nearly every time" over Syria in mock duels. No effort was made by US leaders except for perhaps a few drab comments to try and change the subject on this. While its ancedotal, due to the serious nature of the claims US officials needed to address this. The failure to do so lends credence to the notion that this just may be true. If so, what efforts has the USAF made to address these shortcomings? Denial of reality does not count as an effort to address the problem.

The US tends to both overestimate its own capabilities while underestimating those of adversaries and potential adversaries. As such, it is a valid question as to whether or not the aforementioned US warplanes can stand up to the Iranian ones. I think it highly likely that the Iranian model is easier to use, easier to maintain, and costs far less. This may enable them to stay in a fight for longer than either we or the Israelis could.

As stated, the only way to "know" is to actually have the fight and it would be in the interests of all of us if American military leaders seriously ask the forllowing questions, "can our F-35 and F-22 Warplanes defeat Iran's Kowsar Fighter Jet" and "even if our tech is good enough are our pilots trained well enough to successfully engage a very formidable foe such as Iran?"

Dave Goldstein said...

F-5 vs F35 or F-22. Uhh No.
No planes involved anyway. Missile to missile.

Anonymous said...

Ok not an expert but it would barely be able to find the F35 and be shot down before seeing it