Long-rumored, Iran’s desired Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets are already in the country, a Flug Revue report said.
Two aircraft were reportedly handed over in a private ceremony at the KnAAPO plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur on November 18.
The two jets were then dismantled and loaded onto a Russian Air Force An-124 cargo plane that transported them to Tehran’s Meharabad Airport.
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The final home of the SU-35SE (the variant’s designation) will be the 8th Tactical Fighter Squadron in Isfahan and the 31st Tactical Fighter Squadron in Hamadan, where other fighters will be sent later.
The German outlet also claims that the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) has decided to receive 50 Su-35s instead of 25 aircraft, replacing not only the F-14 Tomcats but also the older F-4E Phantom IIs.
Aircraft manufactured for Egypt?
The supply of Su-35 fighters, an upgraded variant of the legendary Su-27, to Iran has been considered for years and gained momentum after the country sent attack drones to Russia during the military invasion of Ukraine.
However, the arrival of the fighter jets has never been confirmed, despite repeated rumors.
The IRIAF has not received a new fighter since the 1990s, when Russia delivered MiG-29s to Iran. In the meantime, the country has been improvising to maintain active jets supplied by the US and France before the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
It is understood that some of the future Iranian Su-35s will be aircraft originally manufactured for Egypt, which backed out of a deal for 24 fighters.
If confirmed, the delivery of the Sukhois came days before the fall of the government of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, a dictator who had the military support of both Iran and Russia.
