Qaher F313: Iran unveils home-made 'stealth' fighter Published duration 2 February 2013

media caption Footage from state TV shows the jet in flight, but not its take-off or landing

Iran has unveiled a new home-made combat aircraft, which officials say can evade radar.

The single-seat Qaher F313 (Dominant F313) is the latest design produced by Iran's military since it launched the Azarakhsh (Lightning), in 2007.

President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad said it had "almost all the positive features" of the world's most sophisticated jets.

He said the "development of the Iranian nation's military power is... for deterrence and defensive purposes".

In an unveiling ceremony inside a Tehran hangar broadcast on State TV on Saturday, Mr Ahmadinejad said he ranked the aircraft as "among the most advanced fighter jets in the world".

Pictures of the jet were released by state television, showing a steely grey jet that Iran's Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi said was built with "advanced materials" and had a very low radar signature.

The ceremony was timed to coincide with the 34th anniversary of the 1979 revolution, which replaced the US-backed shah with an Islamic regime.

Iran this week claimed to have successfully sent a monkey into space in a Pishgam rocket, which reached an altitude of some 120km (75 miles) for a sub-orbital flight.

Western nations responded by expressing concern that Iran's space programme was being used to develop long-range missiles that could potentially be used to carry nuclear warheads.