Engineering:IAIO Qaher-313

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Short description: Iranian stealth fighter program
Qaher-313
Qaher-313 prior to being reworked as an unmanned aerial vehicle
General information
TypePrototype fighter
National originIran
ManufacturerHESA / SAHA
Number built3[1]
History
First flightDecember 12th 2024

The IAIO Qaher-313 (Persian: قاهر-۳۱۳; also Ghaher-313, Conqueror (Tamer)-313, Q-313, F-313) is an [1] Iranian prototype aircraft. Originally intended to be a manned single-seat potential 5th generation fighter aircraft, the Qaher-313 was publicly announced on 1 February 2013. Independent experts have expressed significant doubts about the viability of the aircraft. In early 2023, Iranian media reported that the Qaher-313 was being modified from a manned fighter aircraft into an unmanned aerial vehicle.[2]

Design and development

Manned fighter aircraft

According to Iranian government sources, the F-313 Qaher was designed and is indigenously produced in Iran by the Iran Aviation Industries Organization (IAIO), a division of the Ministry of Defense, and IRIAF. The project manager is Hassan Parvaneh.[3][4]

The aircraft design is a canard configuration. It was initially described as a stealth fighter built with advanced materials, a very low radar signature[5] and with low-altitude operations capability[6] that could carry either two 2,000-pound (910 kg) bombs, multiple smaller smart guided missiles, or at least 6 PL-12 type air-to-air missiles;[7] these claims were later debunked by numerous international experts.[8][9][10][11][12] It features a downward wingtip device. Iran claims they have designed the aircraft using CATIA three-dimensional interactive design software and tested it using simulation software including Gambit numerical grid generation software, fluent flow analysis and simulation software, CFD models[7] and that they have additionally tested the aerodynamics using small sized jet and propeller flying models.[13]


On 10 February 2013, the Iranian Minister of Defense said the claims made by foreign media about the project are inaccurate and that the engine used by the design had been successfully tested. He also confirmed that the aircraft had not yet been flown, but that taxi and flight tests will occur in the near future.[14]

On 5 March 2017, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehghan stated that the Qaher-313 was ready for flight testing. It was described by the Fars News Agency as a "logistic aircraft for short distances" and a "light fighter jet used for military and training operations".[15]

A subsequent third prototype, designated "08", introduced a number of changes over the models previously showcased, most notably an enlarged cockpit, dual jet exhausts, and a FLIR turret in the nose.[16]

Unveiling ceremony of Qaher-313 fighter

Unmanned aerial vehicle

The managing director of the Iran Aviation Industries Organization (IAIO), a subsidiary of the Defense Ministry, announced in a televised interview on 18 February 2023 that the fighter had reached technical maturity but would be reworked and fielded as an unmanned drone rather than a manned aircraft to adapt it to the requirements of Iranian military units, first deliveries would be made in the middle of 2024.[17] On February 6th 2025, the UAV variant of the Qaher-313 was revealed as the JAS 313, a naval drone with two versions, one that is 60% and one that is 20% the size of the original.[1]

Doubts of viability of aircraft

Iran's first stealth fighter Qaher 313
Four-view of Qaher-313

There has been no independent verification of the status of development of this aircraft and some commentators have even claimed that the aircraft is a hoax, or a "laughable fake".[9] Media sources outside of Iran have raised the possibility that the demonstrated aircraft would not be able to meet stated performance and / or that it may be a scale prototype or mockup,[8][18][19][20] with Cyrus Amini, a BBC News Persian Service journalist[21] claiming that the aircraft "looks like a cheap copy of the American F22".[5] Iran does not release technical details on its arsenals, so many of its claims about the aircraft are impossible to verify.

According to Flight Global, unnamed Israeli experts say the "indigenous fighter jet" Iran presented on 2 February is nothing more than a "very sleek plastic model". Further, the canopy appears to be constructed of "basic plastic," the air intakes are unusually small and "The whole impression is of some plastic parts pasted to an old flying platform". One expert says the cockpit and ejection seat seem real, but the Qaher-313 displayed seemed too small to be a capable fighter. A photo of the cockpit shows a simple glass cockpit design using civilian avionics from Dynon Avionics and Garmin, which are normally found on much less sophisticated general aviation aircraft. The markings on the backup airspeed indicator in this photo seem unrealistic, suggesting a stall speed in landing configuration of merely 70 knots (130 km/h; 81 mph) and a never exceed speed of about 260 knots (480 km/h; 300 mph); values more likely to be found on a small turboprop aircraft.[22] Video footage showing the plane airborne could have been a radio-controlled model aircraft. Poor-quality footage posted on the internet provided no sense of scale for the platform being flown and also failed to show its take-off or landing. Its stealth claims have also been called into question, having no visible weapons carrying capability, either internally or externally.[11][12][13]

Israeli aeronautics expert Tal Inbar claimed "It’s not a plane, because that’s not how a real plane looks. Iran doesn’t have the ability to build planes. Plain and simple."[10] Military aviation journalist David Cenciotti stated that the aircraft has "implausible aerodynamics and Hollywood sheen", claimed that it is too small to be a real fighter jet and that the cockpit was too simple and was "similar to those equipping small private planes".[12]

During the F-313’s first reported taxi test under its own power, analysts cited by Vice News noted that a tire pressure marking visible on the aircraft indicated a minimum pressure of approximately 50 PSI. The article compared this figure to older fighter aircraft such as the F-4 Phantom and F-14 Tomcat, which typically require tire pressures in the 200–300 PSI range. According to the analysis, this discrepancy raised doubts about the aircraft’s structural weight and whether it could accommodate the payload and systems claimed by Iranian officials. If the Qaher-313 can reliably roll on 50 PSI tires, it would have to weigh no more than one fifth of the weight of the F-4 Phantom per unit of volume. [23][24][25]

The Times of Israel labelled the aircraft "a hoax" and cited an Israeli aerospace engineer that the aircraft displayed was obviously not a flying example. [12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Cenciotti, David (6 February 2025). "Iran’s Infamous F-313 'Stealth Jet' Makes a Comeback As a Naval Drone". https://theaviationist.com/2025/02/06/iran-f-313-stealth-jet-makes-a-comeback/. 
  2. ↑ "عکس دیده نشده از حالت بدون سرنشین پهپاد قاهر ۳۱۳" (in fa). 20 February 2023. https://www.etemadonline.com/بخش-گوناگون-84/598081-عکس-پهپاد-قاهر. 
  3. ↑ "Iran unveils advanced fighter jet F-313" (slideshow). The Economic Times (India). 2 February 2013. p. 6. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/slideshow/18305497.cms. 
  4. ↑ Majumdar, Dave (3 February 2013). "Iran reveals new Qaher 313 stealth fighter". Flightglobal.com. http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/iran-reveals-new-qaher-313-stealth-fighter-381806/. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Cyrus Amini (2 February 2013). "Qaher F313: Iran unveils home-made 'stealth' fighter" (report with video). BBC Persian (BBC News Online). https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21307208. 
  6. ↑ "Iran unveils domestically built fighter jet". AFP. Emirates 24/7. 2 February 2013. http://www.emirates247.com/news/iran-unveils-domestically-built-fighter-jet-2013-02-02-1.493417. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Top 10 F-313 most important features, Iran: Mehr News Agency, 4 February 2013, http://www.mehrnews.com/en/newsdetail.aspx?NewsID=1808201, retrieved 6 February 2013 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Turkey: U.S. Embassy bomber was convicted of terrorism in 1997". Reuters, Associated Press. Haaretz. 2 February 2013. https://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/turkey-u-s-embassy-bomber-was-convicted-of-terrorism-in-1997-1.500954. "A closer look at the example presented to the regime’s leaders, including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi, looks like little more than a glorified mock-up that seems to have been built with leftover props from a cheap science-fiction flick. [...] The blurry video published by the Iranians purporting to show the Qaher 313 in flight seems to show not a manned fighter jet but a small radio-operated drone." 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Soltis, Andy (8 February 2013). "Aviation experts say new Iranian stealth jet is a pathetic hoax that can't even fly". NYPOST.com. http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/jad_that_not_gonna_fly_KDsQFz2eU4EdWOsiylHUwJ. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Podelco, Grant (2013-02-07). "Iran's Stealth Fighter is Probably an Elaborate Fraud" (in en). https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/02/irans-stealth-fighter-is-probably-an-elaborate-fraud/272930/. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Egozi, Arie (4 February 2013). "Israeli experts dismiss Iran's Qaher fighter claims". Tel Aviv: Flightglobal.com. http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/israeli-experts-dismiss-irans-qaher-fighter-claims-381841/. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Ben Zion, Ilan (3 February 2013). "Iran's cutting-edge fighter a hoax, critics claim". The Times of Israel. http://www.timesofisrael.com/irans-cutting-edge-fighter-a-hoax-critics-claim/. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 (in ar) (video)TV14VIP (Tehran: YouTube). 2 February 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGd0EU-1uYc. 
  14. ↑ "رونمایی از جدیدترین پهپاد ایران در خرداد 92/ساخت 20 نوع پهپاد در کشور". Iran: Iranian Students News Agency. 10 February 2013. http://isna.ir/fa/news/91112213000/1. 
  15. ↑ "DM: Operational Tests on Iranian Version of S-300 Air Defense Shield Due in May". Fars News Agency. 5 March 2017. http://en.farsnews.ir/newstext.aspx?nn=13951215000317. 
  16. ↑ Cenciotti, David (15 April 2017). "New Photos And Video of Iran's Homemade F-313 "Qaher" Stealth Jet Have Just Emerged. And Here's A First Analysis". TheAviationist.com. https://theaviationist.com/?p=41873. 
  17. ↑ Fars News Agency (19 February 2023). "Iran to Showcase Unmanned Version of Home-Made Jet "Qaher-313"". farsnews.ir. https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14011130000710/Iran-Shwcase-Unmanned-Versin-f-Hme-Made-Je-Qaher-33. 
  18. ↑ "Iran unveils new indigenous stealth fighter "Qaher 313". And here's a detailed analysis". The Aviationist. 2 February 2013. http://theaviationist.com/2013/02/02/iran-new-stealth-fighter/. 
  19. ↑ Anshel Pfeffer (2 February 2013) (in he). Haaretz. https://www.haaretz.co.il/news/politics/1.1920524.+"השאלה הרצינית היחידה שמעלה הצגת המטוס, שכמעט בוודאות מעולם לא הופיע על שולחן השרטוט של מהנדס אווירונאוטי, אבל ללא ספק דרש אלפי שעות הפקה של אנשי התעמולה של המשטר, הוא על מי האיראנים מנסים לעבוד? [The only serious question raised by the display of the plane, that almost certainly never appeared on the drawing board of an aeronautical engineer, but certainly demanded thousands of production hours of the regime's propaganda, is who are the Iranians trying to deceive?]" Google translation
  20. ↑ "Iranian technology: Domestic triumph or monkey business?" (in he). Israel HaYom. 3 February 2013. http://www.israelhayom.co.il/interactive/he/node/65097. "Officials in Israel's defense establishment cast doubt on the capabilities of the F-313. "Without knowing too much, it looks like the plane has many flaws. Developing a fighter jet is not a simple task. It's quite unlikely that this plane will be a cause of concern for the Israeli Air Force..."" 
  21. ↑ "EU's Lady Ashton given 'cover-up' in Iran press" Cyrus Amini
  22. ↑ Siyahgribeyaz.com – İran'ın "Volksjäger" Tasarımı Hakkında / Observations on Iran's Volksjäger design (Turkish). Article retrieved 9 February 2012.
  23. ↑ Axe, David (2017-04-17). "Iran’s Stealth Fighter Is Still Fake and Not Convincing Anyone" (in en-US). https://www.vice.com/en/article/iran-qaher-f313-stealth-fighter-jet-fake-tire-psi/. 
  24. ↑ Axe, David (2020-12-10). "An Iranian Stealth Fighter? Why the Qaher 313 is a Joke" (in en-US). https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/iranian-stealth-fighter-why-qaher-313-joke-174153/. 
  25. ↑ Carlin, Maya (2023-05-20). "Qaher-313: Iran's Fake Stealth Fighter?" (in en-US). https://www.19fortyfive.com/2023/05/irans-qaher-313-stealth-fighter-what-happened/. 

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