Iran’s Aerospace Sector Remains Isolated
Sanctions imposed on the country limit the options of home-grown manufacturers.
Iran’s “indigenous” HESA Saeqeh is a reverse-engineered Northrop F-5 Tiger, partially disguised with a twin tail. Designers copied systems one-for-one wherever possible, substituting Russian components when necessary.
Iran’s “indigenous” HESA Saeqeh is a reverse-engineered Northrop F-5 Tiger, partially disguised with a twin tail. Designers copied systems one-for-one wherever possible, substituting Russian components when necessary.

Iran has maintained its hope of re-integrating with the rest of the world’s aerospace industry and to that end last year held its ninth biennial airshow. When the previous show was held in 2016 this objective appeared as though it might finally come to pass.

In 2016, Iran’s Kish Island Air Show was the largest ever. The list of foreign exhibitors read like a who’s who in the civil aviation business. Foremost among them were firms that provide the infrastructure for airports around the world to move passengers and their baggage between terminals and aircraft, ticketing processes, catering, and a hundred other aspects of commercial air service.