February 8th, 2013
11:55 AM ET

Iran's newest warplane something from 'GI Joe?'

First it was monkeys in space (or not) and now it’s “GI Joe” fighter jets. Not the best of times for Iran’s aviation and aerospace programs, at least if you listen to the skeptics.

First there were doubts about Tehran’s claim it sent a monkey into space in late January.  After photos of two different monkeys that were aboard the alleged one-monkey space shot surfaced, Iran media said there was a photo mix-up and, yes, there was just one Iranian monkey in space.

Then this week Iran unveiled what it said was its new high-tech stealth fighter plane. The jet shown in pictures on the website of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been the butt of jokes all week from aviation bloggers.

“This aircraft looks a lot like an old GI Joe toy,” wrote one blogger.

And from another, “This has to be a joke, right?”

Click through the gallery above to see the bloggers' comments and evidence in the photos.

Iran unveils "flying boats"

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Filed under: Aviation • Iran • Military
soundoff (1,349 Responses)
  1. GIHoHo

    Noone but Iranian Mullahs can fly it.

    February 8, 2013 at 4:01 pm | Report abuse |
  2. disgusted with warmongers

    Yes, obviously Iran is NOT an international theat; this shows that the claim maintained by Israel and the U.S. that Iran is somehow a global threat completely false. The phenomenon everyone in CNN land is currently experienceing is called "doublethink"!

    February 8, 2013 at 4:03 pm | Report abuse |
  3. pablogogo

    the least they could have done is place the lighting in a more flattering way so as not to show off the wavy panels and composition. at least toned down the sheen on the krylon spray paint. there are RC scale modelers that do a Much better job of approximating quality full scale plane construction

    February 8, 2013 at 4:04 pm | Report abuse |
    • KIRK

      haha yeah someone forgot to tell them that stealth means non reflective.

      February 8, 2013 at 4:07 pm | Report abuse |
  4. ben

    Wait until Iran uses this jet to bomb US air carriers in the PG; then you will know it's serious business. When you trust yourself so much that others' ideas seem illogical to you, your demise is on its way. What happened to the most advanced (at the time) CIA drone in 2011? Watch out folks because next, it will be this "joker" plane bombing US targets.

    February 8, 2013 at 4:05 pm | Report abuse |
    • RC Roeder

      If you look carefull at the front wheel near the body of the jet, you will see the tie down for the kite string.

      February 8, 2013 at 4:20 pm | Report abuse |
    • James Taylor

      Ben Goldestein or Ben Silverman, you are a joke and sound like Bush and Cheney or a mouth piece for Israel. The same was said about Iraq when in fact they had teh same and no WMD, no ties to 911 or OBL and in the process Bush and Cheney based on false lies invade that nation while killing over 100,000 innocent Iraqi BABIES, WOMEN AND MEN! And over 15K of our wonderful soldiers while ruining our economic and the worlds. That is CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY any where in the world.

      February 8, 2013 at 4:22 pm | Report abuse |
    • John

      Ben, you have nothing to worry about. I'm an aeronautical engineer and this design lacks the basic requirements for flight. It simply won't fly, it's not aerodynamically sound. You have a bent wing, which serves as a tail also, so it makes no sense with the large sukhoi tail. There are no air intake vents on the top, and you would need them. The other intakes are really small and with a single engine aircraft (which is what this is supposed to be) you need larger ones. There is no space in the nose or breaks in the fuselage for a radar system. The canopy glass is not even glass, looks like plastic and its blurry, and the funniest thing ever: look at picture #6. That's a car radio sticking out of the heads up display... It's a fake. It's just Iran trying to convince the world that they are cutting edge and to flex some military muscle to the international community. They clearly failed.

      February 8, 2013 at 4:31 pm | Report abuse |
    • Sandman

      John, I would love to get it on with it. Give me my old Skyhawk and I'll walk all over it. I think if it tried to do 4 G it would fall apart and toss the pilot. Never fly with an unlatched canopy.

      February 8, 2013 at 4:49 pm | Report abuse |
  5. Gunfighter8

    No need to worry about the poor optics in the Canopy, it has no latches, to hold it down.
    Pilot better be wearing a helmet because in flight that Canopy is coming off.

    February 8, 2013 at 4:06 pm | Report abuse |
  6. GG

    THey did not build it by themselves. They had help you know, from Obama.

    February 8, 2013 at 4:07 pm | Report abuse |
    • rk

      GG you must be a minority repub. Enjoy the next 4 years and beyound.

      February 8, 2013 at 4:47 pm | Report abuse |
  7. James Bell

    Never under estimate the adversary. We do so at our foolish peril.

    February 8, 2013 at 4:09 pm | Report abuse |
    • quagmire

      Except this time! L O L

      February 8, 2013 at 4:23 pm | Report abuse |
  8. john

    Please, lets not forget the flying boats...

    February 8, 2013 at 4:13 pm | Report abuse |
  9. mike1

    picture #6 is that a toolbox?or alunch box?right behind pilot rocking chair

    February 8, 2013 at 4:15 pm | Report abuse |
  10. Burmey

    I really want to be on board with this article. Lord knows I want to express pride in my own countries aeronautical achievements by comparing it to a so-called 'new' fighter jet.

    However a majority of the criticisms seem to be unsophisticated finger-pointing at the jets cosmetics. I expect more... pertinent information from a source like CNN. There's no doubt that the F-16's and F-35 far superior despite (the F-16) being decades older in design. But have actual experts give reasoned, technical criticism regarding performance, applicability, etc. Then add some humor.. Not merely: "Wings point down, LOL".

    Traditional media is becoming more and more like reddit. Both are great, but just not at the same time.

    February 8, 2013 at 4:19 pm | Report abuse |
    • Larry

      Right now , it is hard to get aeronautical secrets out of Iran. They don't like us.

      February 8, 2013 at 5:01 pm | Report abuse |
  11. Al

    Invite them out for a little "Top Gun" date. Their fighter jet will end up a black smoking pile in the desert.

    February 8, 2013 at 4:21 pm | Report abuse |
  12. Will Farrow

    Stupid question... Why is everything in English on this "device"? I can't even call it an aircraft......

    February 8, 2013 at 4:21 pm | Report abuse |
  13. quagmire

    Pic#6 Check out the Blaupunkt!

    February 8, 2013 at 4:22 pm | Report abuse |
  14. Aldo

    Are they the same bloggers and "experts" that claimed the RQ drone that Iran captured was actually a fake, which they later changed to maybe it's real, but it landed on its own, and that then Iranians wouldn't know what to do with it. obviously that was not true, when Iran released a video of decoded info aboard the drones computer. This is the plane Iran felt comfortable to go with in public. Iran can't be both weak and dangerous. Only a fool would underestimate the enemy.

    February 8, 2013 at 4:23 pm | Report abuse |
  15. JERRY

    How can the pilot fly with his knees sticking up like that? That is one scary looking thing. Can it be air worthy?

    February 8, 2013 at 4:28 pm | Report abuse |
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