The questionable F-313 Qaher, presented in 2013 as “Iran’s first stealth jet”, reappears in drone form.
On Feb. 1, 2013, Iran unveiled its so-called indigenous fighter jet, the Qaher 313. The prototype of the aircraft designated F-313 (according to the stencils on the aircraft) was presented to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and publicly displayed during the Ten-Day Dawn ceremonies, marking the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
In the days leading up to the reveal, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi claimed: “The aircraft will be different from the other fighter jets Iran has already made.”
Well, it certainly was different.
As this Author explained in detail in an article that remains among the most read ever at The Aviationist, the size of the plane was bizarre. The cockpit seemed far too small, so much so that a normal pilot wouldn’t have properly fit in the ejection seat. A photo showed the pilot with his knees jammed up above the cockpit’s side borders and his helmet sticking well beyond the ejection seat’s head pad.
The overall shape of the aircraft was interesting, seemingly inspired by various designs, including the X-32, the X-36, and the Boeing Bird of Prey. But the downward-canted outer wing sections looked far too small to support the aircraft’s weight especially considering that so-called “futuristic plane” was supposedly designed to carry a powerful engine and internal payload.
Moreover, the aircraft lacked the rivets and bolts found on all real aircraft, including stealthy ones. The images released at the time made it look like a plastic model rather than a functional jet….
Dealing with the rear section, the engine exhaust completely missed any kind of nozzle. If the jet had actually used an afterburner (or even just reached normal operating temperatures), there were chances the entire structure would have melted.
The design also featured fixed canards and air intakes that seemed far too small to supply air to a modern jet engine. The placement of the intakes, above the wing, would have meant that at high angles of attack, the engine would have received either turbulent air or no air at all. Not ideal for a fighter jet.
And then there was the cockpit. The front panel lacked typical aircraft wiring and instead had only a few instruments, ones you’d expect to find in a small private plane. Some readers even noticed that the airspeed indicator was limited to just 300 MPH.
And the canopy was opaque, seemingly made of plexiglass.
The landing gear looked non-retractable and some observers also pointed out that the landing gear bays seemed too small to fit the stowed gear.
Some footage released by the Iranian state-controlled news agencies showed the F-313 in the air, but, as the media later confirmed, the one depicted was just radio-controlled scale model.
Footage and photographs showing a new prototype (marked “08”) emerged in 2017.
Here’s what this Author wrote about the second “version” of the Qaher:
The new prototype retains the original weird shape but has a more realistic cockpit, large enough to accommodate an Iranian test pilot on an ejection seat, with a “normal” canopy (the previous one was clearly made of plexiglass), and a dorsal antenna. It is equipped with dual exhaust nozzles: according to some sources these are U.S. engines, according to others these would be new turbofan engines or modified Iranian J-85s. And, interestingly, a sort of FLIR (Forward Looking Infra-Red) turret was attached to the nose of the aircraft, that also features a white radome.
Although the new prototype is not a complete joke as its predecessor, it is still pretty hard to say whether it will be able to take to the air and land safely without further modifications: the intakes continue to appear smaller than normal (as commented back in 2013, they remind those of current drones/unmanned combat aerial vehicles); the wing are small as well and feature the peculiar design with the external section canted downward whose efficiency is not clear.
As already explained here in the past, Iranian engineers have been able of some impressive achievements in spite of the embargo imposed after the 1979 Revolution: for instance, the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) remains the world’s only operator of the F-14 Tomcat, that Tehran continues to maintain airworthy and enhanced with some domestic avionics upgrades and weapons.
Moreover, Iran is pretty advanced in terms of production and export of drones: Iranian UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) are quite popular in the Middle East, where some of them have been extensively used in combat over Syria.
So, let’s be prudent and wait once again for more footage about the F-313 to see if it will eventually be modified to become something real, with a real capability or just a concept or a funny DIY jet.
Some Iranian readers speculated that the F-313 was never meant to be a manned aircraft at all, but rather a drone. Well, it looks like they were right.
On Feb. 6, 2025, almost 12 years after the unveiling, a drone type largely based on the F-313 and designated JAS-313, made its debut aboard the homegrown drone carrier Shahid Bahman Bagheri, which was delivered to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) naval fleet in a ceremony held in Bandar Abbas.
1. Iranian drone carrier named Shahid Bahman Bagheri (converted merchant ship) officially joined the IRGCN fleet.
First video shows the takeoff & landing of JAS-313 drone, which looks like a remote controlled scaled version of the Qaher-313 project. pic.twitter.com/ASdNslKULk
— Mehdi H. (@mhmiranusa) February 6, 2025
The Shahid Bahman Bagheri is a converted container ship, originally the Perarin, modified between 2022 and 2024. It is likely named after Shahid (martyr) Bahman Bagheri, an IRGC commander killed in Pathak, Iraq, during the Iran-Iraq War.
Join us for a quick tour of our first aircraft carrier, the Martyr Bahman Bagheri (C-110-4), a versatile vessel designed to carry out a broad range of operations on the high seas.
1/3 pic.twitter.com/uWfBQLq5Ty
— Iran Military (@IRIran_Military) February 6, 2025
Marketed as a “drone carrier,” the vessel features an approximately 180-meter runway and a ski-jump. The carrier is believed to measure around 240 meters in length, with a displacement exceeding 40,000 tons. It is powered by a diesel engine, capable of pushing the ship to speeds above 20 knots. On deck, it can carry two helicopters and an unspecified number of UAVs.
Another photo of the Iranian JAS-313 drones onboard the IRGCN drone carrier Shahid Bahman Bagheri.
Looks like they ran out of the exhaust covers and covered the left one’s exhaust with glue tape and plastic cover. pic.twitter.com/mEqahSz8oa
— Mehdi H. (@mhmiranusa) February 6, 2025
The footage released by Iranian media on Feb. 6, 2025, shows, among the others, the JAS-313 UAVs conducting take-offs and landings. Although no specifications have been released, the UAV appears to be much smaller than the original F-313: more than a standard unmanned aerial vehicle, it seems a pretty large remotely piloted scale model. The video suggests the JAS-313 are equipped with a turbofan engine, likely the Jahesh-700.
9. Another photo of Qaher/Qaem/Jask-313 drones onboard the IRGCN drone carrier Shahid Bahman Bagheri. pic.twitter.com/YPFHzNUc6v
— Mehdi H. (@mhmiranusa) February 6, 2025
Interestingly, along with the very small drones, the footage also shows a few much larger (unmanned?) aircraft similar in shape to the F-313 on the deck.
The role of the JAS-313 is unclear, aside from its obvious use as internal propaganda.
⚠️ 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬 ⚠️
🇮🇷 | Iran becomes 4th country to produce 5th generation stealth aircrafts…
As of February 6th 2025 – Iran is now actively producing 5th generation stealth fighters.
This is a monumental day for our airforce! pic.twitter.com/o0bM92rYvL
— Iran Spectator (@IranSpec) February 6, 2025
