Sat, Jun 17, 2023
New Model a Technically Rehash of Older An-140
An Iranian turboprop demonstrator made its first flight in the last week of May, taking to the skies around a year after being announced to the world, paving the way for the Simorgh program to march onwards to production.
The closed-off Iranian aero industry is always an interesting study in slightly offbeat, character-filled designs, but this one is a pretty boring addition to Jane’s encyclopedia of aircraft: The Simorgh is a high-wing, twin turboprop aircraft aimed at the same cargo-hauling niche addressed by the C-130 stateside. While news of a “new” aircraft taking to the Iranian skies drew the attention of western observers, the design is a riff on the older Antonov An-140. The Ukrainian-designed Antonov was originally created as a passenger turboprop, making the revision to a military utility aircraft a relatively simple affair. The aircraft is the second to nab attention out west in recent memory, after a lightweight jet trainer was shown off earlier this year. Iran Aviation Industries Organization (IAIO).
With typical bluster, domestic news agencies quoted IAIO personnel in citing the Simorgh’s “high-tech materials” as elements that ensured the plane “met international standards and regulations”. At the end of the day, of course, it’s largely similar to the fleet of older Antonov AN-140s completed in Iran in the late aughts. Those aircraft were license-built An-140s made from knock-down kits supplied by Antonov in Ukraine. As a follow up to the well-liked fleet of 14 planes, Iran announced a rendition of the same aircraft with some light improvements as the HESA Simorgh in May of 2022. The new version can haul up to “6 tonnes” of materiel, with some minor aerodynamic changes and loading modifications to simplify operations.
“Given the developments in the region and the threats against the Islamic Republic, aircraft play an important role in the transportation of cargo, and support for the armed forces on battlefields,” said personnel chief Brigadier-General Mohammad-Reza Ashtiani.
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