First flight of Iran’s ‘Simorgh’
On 19 May 2022 the Iranian authorities revealed the existence of a new indigenous transport aircraft. It was dubbed ‘Simorgh’ (Phoenix) after the Iranian mythical bird. It has been locally designed and developed for both civil and military purposes. According to Iranian news site Farsnews the Simorgh made its first successful flight on 30 May 2023.
This test flight was carried out successfully on an airbase in the Central Iranian city of Isfahan on Tuesday in the presence of the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri and Defense Minister Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani.
The Simorgh light transport aircraft, which was developed to replace the Fokker-27s, is a modification of the IrAn-140 (The IrAn-140 is a licensed modification of the Ukrainian An-140 turboprop aircraft.) Work on converting Iran’s IrAn-140 aircraft into a more advanced transport aircraft for the army is being carried out by Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industries (HESA). Simorgh differs from the IrAn-140 in that it has a rear ramp door, similar to the CN235.
‘Simorgh’ also features two turboprop engines with a top speed of 530 km/h and a range of 3900 kilometers, according to Iran’s official state news agency IRNA. When compared to similar models, this aircraft, which requires a runway of at least 1450 meters for takeoff, a runway of at least 900 meters for landing and can carry up to 6 tons of cargo, can be employed as a military and commercial transport aircraft.
Photo: Iran Aviation Industries Organization