'Iran completes test flight of domestic fighter jets'

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Iranian air force pilots on Thursday successfully completed a test flight of two domestically manufactured fighter jets, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. "The test flights of a new generation of Azarakhsh jet fighters, called the Saegheh, were completed by brave pilots from Iran's air force," Iran's Defense Minister Gen. Mostafa Mohammad Najjar was quoted as saying by IRNA. "The two will officially join the air force on Saturday." Najjar said the research, design and production of the jets were done by Iranian experts. The plane was first tested in 2006 and is derived from re-engineered components of US combat aircraft. IRNA said the Saegheh jets were a new generation of the Azarakhsh class of fighter planes. Both Azarakhsh and Saegheh mean lightening in Farsi.