Iran may acquire the Russian Su-57 stealth fighter jet in the future to bolster their air force’s capabilities and increase their military’s overall strength, a new report from Bulgarian Military News read on Monday.
“Acquiring small numbers of elite fighters, possibly coupled with retiring of multiple older squadrons, could provide the most cost effective means for Iran to modernise its aerial warfare capabilities. Such an approach would be far from unprecedented. Russia and Vietnam both cut the size of their fighter fleets in the Cold War’s aftermath due to budgetary constraints, but invested in small numbers of elite air superiority fighters to provide a qualitative deterrent rather than a quantitative one,” the publication said.
The website said the Su-57 could be a possibility at this juncture because Iran is facing heavy financial burdens due to the ongoing sanctions that have been imposed on the Islamic Republic.
“Perhaps the only fighter on offer for export which is capable of providing the capabilities Iran will require is the Russian Su-57 next generation air superiority fighter, which entered serial production in July 2019 and is currently being marketed to clients worldwide,” they continued.
However, according to the publication, if they were to order a full strength squadron, this could set the Iranian government back at least $3 billion, not including the operational costs for maintaining these new warplanes.
In the past few months, several reports have surfaced about Iran’s flirtation with the S-400 system, which is comparable in costs with the Su-57.
“The cost would be similar to that of three S-400 regiments, but the contribution two dozen Su-57 fighters could make to Iran’s defences – equipped with hypersonic air to air missiles and next generation avionics and electric warfare systems – would arguably be greater,” the website said.
It should be pointed out that neither Iran nor Russia has commented on these claims. Iran is currently under heavy U.S. sanctions and the sale of these warplanes to the Islamic Republic could damage the Russian Federation’s relationship with Israel.
Source » almasdarnews