Iran has finalized an agreement with Russia to buy Su-35 fighter jets, Mi-28 attack helicopters, and Yak-130 jet trainers, Iran’s Deputy Defense Minister Mahdi Farahi said on Nov. 28, the semi-official Iranian news agency Tasnim has reported.
In a conversation with the outlet, Farahi said that these three advanced military aircraft will be at Iran’s disposal, and the relevant processes are “currently underway.”
Iran has the most powerful military helicopter fleet in the region and has already modernized its helicopter capabilities through several projects, the general said.
Iran and Russia have also reportedly signed agreements to strengthen economic, trade, energy, and military cooperation.
Tehran has not acquired any new fighter aircraft in recent years, with the exception of a few Russian MiG-29 fighters purchased back in the 1990s.
The Iranian Air Force received its first Russian-made Yak-130 training aircraft in September.
The Yak-130 is a subsonic combat trainer developed by the Yakovlev Design Bureau in cooperation with the Italian company Alenia Aermacchi and with the support of the Ukrainian company Motor Sich. The aircraft was developed to replace the L-39 trainer aircraft in the Russian Air Force.
The Yak-130 is reported to provide Iranian military pilots with training in the operation of fourth- and fifth-generation fighters, such as the Su-57.
Earlier, the United States accused Iran of supplying Mohajer-6 and other drones to Russia to wage war against Ukraine. According to media reports, in exchange for weapons, Russia supplies Iran with cyber weapons, Western weapons “captured on the battlefield,” and helps develop its missile program.
Russia is also engaged in the production of Iranian-designed kamikaze drones in the special economic zone in Alabuga, Tatarstan.
Iran transfers materials and technologies to Russia, and continues to supply Shahed suicide drones.
Tehran officially denies this, but copious evidence indicates these denials are false.