The Iranian military is at it again. For the last several years, they have bragged about the development of high-tech weaponry that will defend Iran. This week Iran announced the production of its stealth fighter. This is quite a surprise as only the U.S. has confirmed stealth aircraft in use although China, Russia, Great Britain, India and Japan are working on introducing their own versions. The Iranian claim would hold greater validity if it was not filled with exaggerations, and if Iran had not led the world down this fairy-tale path before.

 

“We have finished the design of stealth aircraft which cannot to be detected even by advanced radar systems, and the primary stages of its manufacture have started,” said Air Force Commander Brigadier General Ahmad Miqani.

 

That is quite a development. Not even the U.S. stealth planes are completely free of radar detection. Stealth reduces the radar signature to a tiny blip, but it does not create radar invisibility. Miqani brags of a design better than anything seen so far.

 

Just last week, Iran released photos of missiles it claimed could easily reach Israel. Many photography experts have questioned the validity of the photos, as they appear doctored.

 

In 2006, the Iranians claimed to have developed a torpedo three to four times faster than conventional torpedoes. They claimed it traveled 360 kilometers/hour. At that speed, no warship or submarine could elude it. So far, it has not been necessary to avoid it, as no one has seen it.

 

In 2006, Iran also claimed to have made a jet equivalent to the U.S.’s F-18, widely regarded as one of the world’s top fighters. Further analysis revealed the Iranians produced a jet on par with 40-year-old models.

 

Also in 2006, the Iranian military claimed a flying boat made from stealth materials. These same military geniuses claimed it could fire with precision while moving. The boat has yet to be seen.

 

Along with the new stealth fighter, Miqani announced “quick reaction” tanks and something called an electro-optical surveillance system. The surveillance system is supposed to replace the radar system if it becomes inoperative.

 

Those are impressive achievements, especially when considering that the only way Iran survived the 1980’s war with Saddam’s Iraq was because the mullahs poured massive numbers of poorly trained, poorly armed but religiously fanatical “soldiers” into the frontlines and overwhelmed the smaller-numbered Iraqis.

 

It all makes one wonder if maybe the Iranian nuclear program is overblown. Yet that is unlikely. The Iranians can make 40-year-old jets. Nuclear bombs are a 60-year-old technology. Sooner or later, the Iranian military has to get something right.