Tomcat + Fulcrum = Sokho-25

[Ivan]

Take a look at it
Looks like someone took a dive in the parts department and made something from it. Front and rear of a MiG-29 but with swing wing stuff from a F-14...

[Craig.]

not working

[Ivan]

not working

Changed the link... try again

[Craig.]

Thanks:)
Now you see what years of economic sanctions do to a country. Its interesting to see how they got round the F-14 parts problem.

[Woodlouse2002]

Thanks:)
Now you see what years of economic sanctions do to a country. Its interesting to see how they got round the F-14 parts problem.

Buy the now retired F14's from the USN?

[Ivan]

Just copy the avionics and put them in a new airframe (modified MiG-29UB)

[SilverFox441]

I'm not sure what you guys are on about...the pic shows 3 F-14A's...exactly what the Iranians bought.

[Woodlouse2002]

I'm not sure what you guys are on about...the pic shows 3 F-14A's...exactly what the Iranians bought.

Ssshhh!

[C]

I'm not sure what you guys are on about...the pic shows 3 F-14A's...exactly what the Iranians bought.

Glad someone wlse thinks that too... My thoughts entirely!

[Ivan]

Google has multiple hits describing Sokho as something different than a F-14A.

And besides... the most recent pictures on Airlines have them with quite bright camo scheme, and not with the subdued colors shown here.

[Craig.]

Actually Iran have made their own jet. I must admit though I haven't seen it.

[SilverFox441]

The Iranians have designed a little 2-seat trainer/light combat plane...assuming they designed it. The bird looks a lot like a design from about 10-15 years ago that was proposed as a F-18 trainer here in Canada.

[Ivan]

With anyone saying that these are F-14's... where is the brown / yellow camo on the nose (example see here)
(and another one that looks like it has been a gate guard for a few years here)
None of these has blue Flanker style Camo.

Indigenous production (apart from the weid black stealth thing)
- Simorgh, Modified 2-seat F-5 from original single seater
- Evolved version of the above (Azarakhsh), with MiG-29 engines
- Saeqeh... Looks very much like the proposed trainers from MiG (I-2000) and Yakovlev (Yak-130)
- Copy of a Bell Jetranger that somehow looks sleeker than the original (and has been adapted to the local climate)
- Some small trainer aircraft that arent interesting enough to list here
- HESA version of An-140
- Possible WiG plane

And the inventory...
US stuff
F-14A, F-4, F-5 (and local mods), AH-1, Chinook, Herk, Jetranger (and local mods), UH-1

Soviet
A few former Iraqi MiG-25 or what is left of these
Su-25, SU-24, Possible Su-27
MiG-29, MiG-23/27, MiG-21 and variants, Possible MiG-31
2x Il-76 Adnan... one with Russian and one with french radar.
Il-76, An-12

Other
Former Iraqi and own inventory Mirage
Fokker F-27 Navalised.

[Felix/FFDS]

Ivan - we all know that camoflage and colours vary with time, etc.

The Iranian aviation industry has done wonders with what they have.  Merely keeping the F-14s - at least some of them  - flyable through the years has been a small miracle.  I believe that although they are still powerful fighters, their use over the years at times has been as AEW - with the powerful radar, etc.

I am not convinced that the Sokho is a "new" design, as much as it is a development of the F-14 - similar to the Israelis developing the Kfir from the Mirage V.

I have not had success in finding out more - diagrams and descriptions of the Sokho ... even in some of the Air Forces Monthly magazines that have described air shows in Iran.

As for the An.140, I understand that it is not merely a license built programme in Iran, but that HESA actually is a design partner, along with Antonov.

[Ivan]

OK most of the pictures were from early 2000s... and there is a trend to repaint all upgraded stuff (at least their MiG-29s that came in full-grey)in some kind of grey / blue-and-subdued yellow scheme.