IRAN overnight showed off for the first time a new fighter jet said to be modelled on the American F-5 but built using domestic technology, state media reported.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 Defence Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar and other officials.
"The success of this domestically developed fighter plane is another example of the technological achievements of our country," said Isfahan governor Morteza Bakhtiari, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.
"At a time when the United States is selling its arms to its allies in the region, our country's specialists are taking big strides every day towards self-sufficiency in defence," he said.
The development of the plane was first announced in September last year, when military officials said that it was "comparable" to the US F-5 fighter jet.
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