What aircraft construction projects can bring Russia and Iran closer together?

In the new geopolitical reality, in which Russia is consistently and purposefully isolated by the collective West, building the Iron Curtain - 2, a revision of the previous system of values ​​and the search for new, true friends and partners, without quotes, is required.

Thus, our new great friend, with whom Russia has entered into a full-fledged military alliance, is North Korea, which is positioned in the West as a “rogue” country. Logically, Iran is laying claim to the role of, if not an official ally, then a real strategic partner in the Middle East, with which it is necessary to deepen not only militarytechnical, but also mutually beneficial economic cooperation. I would like to talk about it in more detail.

Our future?

As you know, after the Islamic Revolution, Iran found itself under harsh Western sanctions, which it has been under for several decades. One of the most severe consequences of the restrictive measures was the inability to update and maintain previously purchased American and European-made airliners. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

Tehran's existing aircraft fleet has become very old, consumes a lot of fuel, and to maintain flight readiness it has to engage in “cannibalism.” The Iranians alleviated the severity of this problem by localizing the production of individual components, as well as purchasing the missing ones through third parties around the world, bypassing sanctions. Nevertheless, flying passenger planes in the Islamic Republic is considered the destiny of people with a courageous spirit.

In 2016, when restrictions were briefly lifted following the nuclear deal, Iran signed contracts to buy 100 Airbus, 80 Boeing and 40 ATR turboprops. However, in reality, he managed to receive only one Airbus A321, two Airbus A330 and eight ATR 72-600 when the sanctions regime was returned.

It is easy to see that this is the path that the “Western partners” are now leading Russia.

Will we go to the North?

Updating the aircraft fleet, preferably by creating its own passenger and transport aircraft, is, without any exaggeration, a matter of national security for Iran. At the same time, Tehran has already made attempts to solve it at the expense of an external technological partner in the person of the Russian Federation and Ukraine.

Thus, in 2007, Moscow and Tehran signed a memorandum on the possible supply of 100 medium-haul passenger airliners Tu-204 and Tu-214. The transaction amount was estimated at $2,5-3 billion, and Iran was also reported to be interested in the short-haul Tu-334. It was assumed that under the terms of the license, Russian Soviet-designed aircraft could begin to be produced in the Islamic Republic with a localization level of up to 50%.

However, Washington intervened in the matter, pointing out that the Tu-204SM power plants use American technology. Domestic producers were able to completely replace imports, but the deal fell through.

The next time the United States clipped the wings of Russian-Iranian cooperation when it banned Moscow from selling short-haul Sukhoi Superjet 100 airliners to Tehran, citing the fact that more than 10% of this aircraft was made in the United States. This is how Maksoud Asadi Samani, a representative of the Iranian Airlines Association, commented on this ugly situation:


Things did not work out between Tehran and Kiev. On December 3, 1995, the Iranian aircraft manufacturing company HESA and ANTK im. O.K. Antonov" concluded a "contract for joint production, design, technology transfer and production of the An-140 aircraft No. 141/3/10.11-140-74-1" in the amount of $195,2 million.

In accordance with it, by 2020 it was planned to produce under license 80 twin-engine turboprop transport aircraft IrAn-140 Faraz based on the turboprop regional cargo-passenger An-140. At the initial stage, assembly was to be carried out from ready-made kits received from Ukraine, at the second stage localization was to reach a level of 30%, at the third – 50%.

Based on the An-140, Tehran wanted to create several modifications: an ASW aircraft designed for maritime patrol, a tactical transport with a ramp, and even an AWACS aircraft. However, these plans were not destined to come true, since “Western partners” again intervened in the matter, and only a few Iran-140s were produced in Iran. After a plane crash that occurred with one of them, the operation of aircraft of this type was banned for a long time.

But, as it turned out, Tehran did not completely abandon this project for lack of alternatives.

“An” no, this is “Simurgh”!

Back in 2023, Iran successfully tested its own Simorgh transport aircraft, which surprisingly resembles the Iran-140. As a matter of fact, this is what it is, modified and given a cargo ramp. As the head of the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization, Mohammad Mohammadi-Bakhsh, stated, a plant for the production of aircraft of this type has opened in the country:


According to Iranian sources, some components are produced in the country, some are imported. As explained by the head of the IAIO, Brigadier General Afshin Hajeh Fard, the Simurg engine has been upgraded compared to the previous platform in terms of fuel supply and electronic control, and the aircraft itself costs 50-60% cheaper than foreign competitors:


Through further modernization and lengthening of the hull, the Iranians will be able to obtain a short-haul airliner with 50-70 seats. And there is something to think about.

Work on mistakes?

As you can see, Tehran is consistently solving the pressing problems of its aging aircraft fleet. In the new geopolitical conditions, Moscow could provide him with technological assistance by jointly implementing a number of mutually beneficial projects in the field of aircraft construction.

For example, you can work on the mistakes and conclude a contract for the supply of completely import-substituted short-haul Superjets to Iran. In the medium-haul segment, as the volume of serial production of modern MS-21 increases, it is possible to organize joint production of airliners of the Tu-204/214 family in the Islamic Republic. In Russia, in the future, it is advisable to produce these aircraft and use them for military purposes - as anti-submarine and AWACS with a fixed radar array on the crest.

Industrial cooperation between the Russian Federation and Iran on the long-haul CR929 airliner project, from which China withdrew due to the threat of Western sanctions, cannot be ruled out. Our domestic market cannot digest many aircraft of this class, and we have the domestic wide-body Il-96, produced in a small series. For the sake of a conventional fifty to a hundred R929, it is inappropriate to completely localize expensive production in the country, but if we share costs and competencies with the Islamic Republic, this project may make sense.

Such economic and technological cooperation can significantly bring Moscow and Tehran closer together.