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MILITARY
Aviation Industry
The US has imposed sanctions that prevent US companies from exporting
products to Iran. The sanctions also preclude nonUS manufacturers from
exporting to Iran if USmade content exceeds 10 percent. Since the
European Union does not impose restrictions on sales of civil products to
Iran, Eurocopter and AgustaWestland market their products in the country,
but the US sanctions restrict the Europeans' offerings to just a few models.
Iran's burgeoning aviation industry is a sector rapidly drawing increasing
attention. As evidenced by the inaugural flight of Iran's indigenously
designed and manufactured Azarakhsh fighter jet to the mass production
launch of small turboprops and passenger planes, this sector was seen to
be making rapid strides. Part of the impetus for the development of this
industry lay within domestic demand factors. It was for a time estimated
that over 10% of total demand for passenger planes in the AsianPacific
market was in Iran, as domestic passenger traffic was expected to top
eleven million passengers by the year 2000. This massive demand also
spurred private sector investment in this sector as evidenced by the
establishment of 17 private airlines, which controled over 25% of market
share.
Further Reading
Iran Aviation Industries Organization (IAIO
/ IAFAIO)
HESA Iran Aircraft Manufacturing
Industrial Company (IAMI)
PANHA Iran Helicopter Support and
Renewal Company (IHSRC)
SAHA Iran Aircraft Industries (IACI)
Ghods Aviation Industry
Shahid Basir
AIRC Aviation Industries Research
Center
AUC Aviation University Complex @
Malek Ashtar U.
MATSA Air Force Technology and
Electronic Center
OIC Owj Industrial Complex
SSAFU Shahid Sattari Air Force
University
Resources
Iranian Fighter Projects: An Assessment
Iran's aviation ambitions run into reality
Eugene Kogan, Interavia Business &
Technology December 1 2001
Iran's aviation industry infrastructure was by and large established in the
1970s, at the time of the Shah Reza Pahlavi and limitless oil revenues. Not
only did the Shah order vast quantities of America's most advanced weapons, he was also acquiring the capability to produce
them in Iran. Under a multibilliondollar industrialisation programme, the Shah commissioned US arms firms to build entire
weapons factories from scratch in Iran. Thus Bell Helicopter (a division of Textron, Inc.) was building a factory to produce
Model214 helicopters in Isfahan. Northrop was also a joint partner in Iran Aircraft Industries, inc., which maintained many of
the US military aircraft sold to Iran and was expected to produce aircraft components and eventually complete planes. These
efforts represented a large share of US industrial involvement in Iran, and were a centrepiece of the Shah's efforts to develop
modern, hightechnology industries.
The Iran Helicopter Support and Renewal Company (IHSRC), or Panha Company, was formed in 1969, the Iranian Aircraft
Industries (IACI) in 1970, and Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industries Corporation (IAMI), also known under its Farsi acronym
(HESA), in 1974. Two other important companies, Iran Aviation Industries Organization of the Armed Forces (IAIO), also
known as the Iranian Armed Forces Aviation Industries Organization (IAFAIO), and Ghods/Ghoods Research Center were
formed in the early 1980s. These companies progressed from repair and maintenance facilities to larger defence enterprises
with several thousands employees, except for Ghods which has remained relatively small.
In April 1997 Acting Commander of the Ground Forces of the Iranian Army, Lieutenant General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani
announced that the design and construction of helicopters had started and would bear results in the ground forces fiveyear
plan. General Ashtiani also claimed that 14,000 various kinds of aircraft parts had been produced by the forces, with some of
the parts manufactured at costs one thousandths of similar foreign made parts. He stated that Iran had saved the equivalent of
30 billion rials in hard currency. In the Iranian budget year which started on 21 March 1997, he disclosed that the aviation wing
of the army intended to produce 90 percent of its spare parts requirement.
Joint aircraft technology projects with Russia were supplemented by such projects as the indigenously designed and
manufactured Shabaviz helicopter manufactured by Iran Helicopter Support and Renewal Company (IHSRC, also sometimes
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Iran Aviation Industry
written Iran Helicopter Support and Renewal Industries) and the S68 turboprop trainer manufactured by Iran Aircraft Industries.
Iran Helicopter Support and Renewal Industries in Tehran is a producer of the helicopter's body and maintenance of helicopters
according to American standards. However, the achievements of Iran's aviation industry has not only been limited to the
manufacture of planes. Iran Air had successfully completely overhauled a number of planes in its fleet, without any foreign
assistance as have other local companies such as Aseman.
Iran's defense industries had a long history of reverse engineering equipment, primarily those of Western origin, in order to
maintain and potentially upgrade their existing inventory. A lack of spare parts and technical assistance from the original
manufacturers meant that in numerous instances Iran looked to the international market, both legal and illegal, to secure
sources of parts and equipment. For instance, on July 10, 2003, ICE agents executed search warrants on 18 US companies in
10 states suspected of exporting military components to Multicore, Ltd, a front company in London that was involved in
clandestinely procuring weapons systems worldwide for the Iranian military. Among the items allegedly exported by these US
companies to Multicore were components for HAWK missiles, F14 fighter jets, F5 fighter jets, F4 fighter jets, C130 military
aircraft, military radars, and other equipment. On 24 September 2003, ICE agents in Miami announced the arrest of Serzhik
Avassapian, a 40yearold Iranian national, on charges of attempting to illegally export roughly $750,000 worth of US F14
fighter jet components to the Iranian government. During the undercover ICE investigation, there was also discussion of illegal
exports of helicopters and C130A electrical and avionic upgrades to Iran. By June 2006 there were still trials going on in
reponse to a slew of investigations and arrests following the 2003 investigations.
Illegal purchase of equipment was not the only potential problem facing Iran's reverse engineering programs. In October 2006,
BellTextron filed suit in a US District Court in the District of Colombia, accusing Iranian manufacturers of "trading on Bell's
reputation" with their programs to develop domestic derivatives of the Bell 205, 206, and 214 helicopters.
Iran's state aircraft company, the Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company, licensed production of the Antonov An140
aircraft in a deal with both Russia and Ukraine, ostensibly for sales to Iran's airlines, with the military also taking interest. After
the success of the deal with the first Iran140 aircraft rolling out in 2004, Iran looked to sign a similar deal with the two
countries for production of the Tupolev Tu334, another airliner.
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