MAKS 2017
Show report
PROGRAMME
Iran outlines export ambition
for reshaped Hamaseh UAV
Long-endurance surveillance and attack system is already flown by home nations military
A year after the Iranian mili-
tary fielded the Hamaseh un-
manned air vehicle, Iran Aircraft
Manufacturing Industries is now
offering the long-endurance sur-
veillance and attack system to the
export market.
The Iranian company dis-
played a model of the single-en-
gined, twin-boomed Hamaseh on
its exhibit booth at MAKS, offer-
ing the first glimpse of Irans most
capable UAV outside of the coun-
trys domestic industry events.
Hamaseh a Persian word
meaning epic was first dis-
played in public in 2013, featur-
ing a bulbous forward radome
and the UAVs distinctive twin-
boomed tails.
After it entered service three
years later, its appearance was
tweaked, with a more convention-
al radome giving it a fuselage pro-
file similar to the Israel Aerospace
Industries Eitan/Heron TP UAV,
although the Iranian product is an
order of magnitude smaller.
Mehrooz Hassanzadeh, export
DEVELOPMENT
Tehran goes on the offensive with Kosar light jet
I rans military plans to field a
new light-attack and training jet
called the Kosar within two and a
half years, industry officials
haveindicated.
After a public roll-out last
month, Iran Aviation Industries
Organization (IAIO) displayed a
scale model of the twin-engined,
two-seat Kosar jet to an interna-
tional audience for the first time
in the MAKS exhibit halls.
The prototype Kosar is still in-
volved in a six-month ground-
test phase before entering a five-
year test programme, says Sarvar
Mohammad, an IAIO manager;
Tehran launched the Kosar pro-
12 | Flight International | 25-31 July 2017
Fuselage shape now bears a similarity to Israel-produced Heron TP
manager for the Hamaseh, con-
firms many of the aircrafts details
that have already been reported in
the Iranian press. The 415kg
(915lb) UAV can carry sensors or
weapons up to 15,000ft with an
11h endurance.
Despite the promised endur-
ance and a 59kt (110km/h) loiter
speed, the Hamaseh is listed with
a maximum range of 108nm
(200km). It can take off using a
gramme with an order for 50 air-
craft, he adds.
Featuring an 11m (36ft) wing-
span and a familiar nose profile,
the Kosar appears to follow in the
tradition of Irans remanufactur-
ing experience with the Northrop
F-5, a 50-year-old fighter design
that Iran manages to keep in ser-
vice with the help of a series of
indigenous updates.
Iran will power the Kosar with
two J90 engines, which are a do-
mestic adaptation of GE Aviation
J85 turbojets fielded with the orig-
inal F-5, Mohammad says.
In other respects, however, the
Kosar is a different aircraft. It is
For more in-depth coverage of
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ROTORCRAFT
IHSRC discloses
more of Sabas
specificications
A fter unveiling the Saba-248
light-twin helicopter in
March, Iranian industry officials
have revealed new details about
the programmes schedule, sup-
ply chain and performance.
The unveiling of the Saba-248
in Iran four months ago caught
industry observers by surprise,
revealing a potentially competi-
tive offering bearing a likeness to
the Bell Helicopter 427.
The aircraft completed its first
Stephen Trimble/FlightGlobal
flight in 2016 and entry into ser-
vice in Iran is scheduled for 2019,
says Rohallah Famerini, deputy
managing director for commer-
cial and economic affairs for Iran
Helicopter Support and Renewal
(IHSRC), the Saba-248s designer.
runway or assisted by disposable IHRSC plans to certificate the
rockets, and recovers using land- type for operations only within
ing gear or a parachute in emer- Iran initially, with applications as
gency situations, he says. a search and rescue and disaster
The aircraft carries several response aircraft, Famerini says.
types of sensors, including syn- Iran plans to lean heavily on
thetic aperture radar, communi- Western suppliers for critical
cations or radar jammers and a equipment, however, with the
camera. Weapon options for its first aircraft powered by two Sa-
wing-mounted hardpoints in- fran Helicopter Engines Arrius
clude small bombs, grenades powerplants and the transmission
androckets. from an Austrian company.
Stephen Trimble/FlightGlobal
Two-seat aircraft will be powered by pair of indigenous J90 engines
listed in promotional brochures ture from the Northrop design,
with a maximum take-off weight featuring a cruciform lay-out
of 6,180kg (13,620lb), which is with the horizontal stabiliser
about half that of an F-5. The em- placed at the top of the back end
pennage also represents a depar- of the fuselage.
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