Iran launches its first state-of-the-art domestic fighter jet “Kowsar”

Iran has launched its first state-of-the-art domestic fighter jet “Kowsar” at a defense show in Tehran on August 23, 2018. The jet is a fourth-generation fighter, with advanced avionics and multi-purpose radar. It is designed and manufactured by domestic military experts. It is dual-cockpit, single engine jet with single tail fin. It resembles US-made F-5F Tiger (first flew in 1974), which is variant of 1950s-era US Northrop F-5 fighter that is a long-time mainstay of Iranian Air Force. It can be used for short aerial support missions and is equipped with systems that promote precision targeting. The acronym “Kowsar” refers river in paradise in Islam and also the title of a chapter in the Koran.