Iran puts MiG-29 simulator into operation

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

TEHRAN, Iran (AA) — Iran said Sunday that the simulator system for the MiG-29 fighter jets has become operational and will be delivered to air bases across the country in the coming days.

The simulator has been successfully tested and will be handed over to bases that are equipped with MiG-29 aircraft, Major-General Abolrahim Mousavi, commander-in-chief of the Iranian army, said during a ceremony at the Shahid Sattari Aeronautical University in Tehran.

The top commander said the simulator will be “effective in improving the combat capability of the Air Force.”

He said similar electronic warfare simulators for other aircraft, including F-4 and Sukhoi Su-24, were produced by defense researchers at the Shahid Sattari Aeronautical University.

Iran has in recent years made significant advancements in the military arena, producing a wide array of weapons systems, including fighter jets, missiles, helicopters and drones.

At the National Army Day parade in April, Iran’s military put most of its defense arsenal on display, including MiG-29 fighter jets.

MiG-29, which was first introduced in 1985, is a single-seat, twin-engine fighter jet used for ground attacks. Iran received the first batch of aircraft in the early 1990s.

Last month, Iran unveiled its first indigenously-developed hypersonic ballistic missile called “Fattah”, which has been developed by the aerospace division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).