In this day and age, having your own stealth fighter is seen as more of a necessity. America has plenty and so do Britain, Russia, and China. So what’s stopping Iran from doing the same?
Ten years of development
The Conqueror F-313 is Iran’s planned stealth fighter aircraft that they unveiled ten years ago. Ten years is a long time, so why is it taking longer than expected?
Impossible to verify credibility
Iran hasn’t given any updates regarding the status of the Conqueror’s development. In fact, Iran’s silence about the stealth fighter has led many to assume that the aircraft was merely a hoax.
Media backlash
Revealing that you’re developing a stealth fighter (on your own) will attract media attention and other sets of prying eyes. An Israeli aeronautics expert once claimed that Iran does not have the ability to build planes. While some have expressed how laughable the aircraft’s implausible aerodynamics was because of how “small and simple” its design was.
Questionable construction
When the F-313 was unveiled, experts quickly saw through the construction of the presented model. According to them, the fighter jet looked like a sleek plastic model with unusually small air intakes. One journalist even claimed that the F-313 felt like a cheap copy of America’s F-22 Raptor.
Hushing the haters
The Iran Aviation Industries Organization finally announced the cancellation of the F-313 this February 2023. After ten years of development, the organization thinks that the fighter had reached its technical maturity and would instead be redesigned as an unmanned drone. Lucky for the small percentage of F-313 believers, the first delivery of the unmanned Conqueror is expected to happen in 2024.