Iran Now Eyeing Sukhoi Jets After Success With Russian S-300s

“We are building our own systems capable of securing our airspace on three levels. What we lacked in long-range interceptor missiles we successfully made up for with the purchase of the S-300 systems. We now need to consolidate our air force,” Iran’s news agency Tasnim quoted Dehgan as saying.

The Iranians’ desire to buy Russian warplanes was apparently prompted by the performance of the Russian Airspace Forces in Syria.

Tehran has a long list of advanced Russian fighter jets and bombers to choose from, including Su-30, Su-34 and Su-35 jets.

The Su-30 fighter jet, modified with a hardened electronic circuity enabling the aircraft to withstand the electromagnetic pulse of a nuclear blast, is famous for its aerodynamic design that offers unparalleled maneuverability and its thrust vectoring that enables the aircraft to take-off and land in a variety of settings providing the warplane with multi-purpose characteristics.

The 2,120kmh fighter jet is able to release cruise missile from a height of 500 meters to 14,000 meters.

The Su-34 is a state-of-the-art fighter bomber, developed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau in the mid-1980s. The two-seat Su-34 is primarily designed to destroy a variety of ground and naval targets. It is capable of performing solo and group missions in daytime and at night, under favorable and adverse weather conditions and in a hostile environment.

The Su-35 multirole fighter jet can be touted as the best dogfighter in history. In his article, published by the US magazine National Interest, military expert Sebastien Roblin gave kudos to the Su-35 (Flanker-E) super-maneuverable multirole fighter jet, which he described as a "deadly adversary" to the US F-15, Eurofighter and France’s Rafale fighter jet.

Kostantin Makiyenko, deputy director of the Center for Strategic and Technology Analysis in Moscow, told Gazeta.ru that Tehran “apparently hopes to solve its missile defense problems with the help of its very own Bavar-373 multichannel medium-range missile it started working on after Russia suspended the supply of S-300 missiles after the adoption of UN Security Council sanctions on Iran in mid-2010.”

In April 2015 President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to resume the deliveries of sophisticated weapons to the Islamic Republic, including the S-300 systems missiles amid the progress reached during negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program.

The contract entered into force in November 2015.