Iran Shows Off Homegrown Fighter Jet

(file photo) (Fars)

August 5, 2007 -- Iran today showed off for the first time a new fighter jet said to be modeled on the U.S. F-5, but built using domestic technology.

State media reported that the "Azarakhsh" (Lightning) jet -- one of the first to be home-produced by Iran -- made a successful flight in the central city of Isfahan in a ceremony attended by Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar and other officials.

The development of the plane was first announced in September last year, when military officials said that it was "comparable" to the F-5 fighter.

(AFP)