The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has introduced the JAS 313, an unmanned jet-powered drone derived from the earlier Qaher-313 stealth fighter project. The announcement marks the latest evolution of Iran’s indigenous aircraft development efforts, though the project has long faced skepticism regarding its authenticity and operational capability
The Qaher, initially unveiled in 2013 as a manned stealth fighter, was widely questioned by defense analysts due to its unconventional design and obvious engineering flaws.
The aircraft’s unusually small cockpit, questionable aerodynamics, and lack of essential features such as properly sized air intakes and functional landing gear led many to doubt its viability as a fully operational fighter jet. By 2017, Iran displayed a modified version of the aircraft with a more realistic cockpit, but its flight capabilities were never verified, as it was never tested beyond a taxiing exercise.
Iran claims the first successful flight of stealth UCAV Qaher 313. Originally intended to be a fifth-gen fighter jet a decade ago, it ended with only taxi trials. Later it was converted into an unmanned platform. It’s powered by a single GE J85 with a max output of just 22 kN! pic.twitter.com/GCVxze3Ob9
— Sankalan Chattopadhyay (@VinodDX9) December 19, 2024
Iranian defense officials then announced in February 2023 that they were adapting the design into an unmanned platform named the Qaher 313, to better align with military requirements.
The effort eventually culminated in the JAS 313, which was revealed aboard Iran’s newly commissioned drone carrier, the Shahid Bahman Bagheri, a converted container ship designed to launch and recover UAVs.
The IRGC unveiled new footage of its drone carrier, Shahid Mahdavi.
The deck also features the Qaher-313, an alleged stealth drone based on a scrapped fighter design. pic.twitter.com/l5ld5nNSbq
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According to Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the IRGC Navy, the JAS 313 comes in two scaled versions: one at 60% and another at 20% of the original aircraft’s size.
“The bigger version of JAS 313 is equipped with a jet engine that allows the aircraft to conduct missions at high velocities,” Tangsiri told Tasnim News Agency. The IRGC has positioned these drones for reconnaissance and bombardment operations.
Footage released by Iranian state media shows the JAS 313 taking off and landing from the Shahid Bahman Bagheri. While official specifications remain undisclosed, the smaller drone variation appears significantly smaller than the original Qaher-313 prototype, resembling a remotely piloted model.
The IRGC released images of its ‘new’ JAS 313 drones, featuring 20% and 60% scaled models based on its predecessor, the Qaher-313. T
he JAS 313 is presented as an unmanned version of the original Qaher stealth jet, which Iran initially introduced as a manned fighter but later… pic.twitter.com/qYYgCSv4hg
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The larger model is said to be powered by the Jahesh-700 engine, a domestically produced turbofan engine. However, details about this engine remain scarce, and experts have questioned whether it is entirely indigenous or based on foreign technology. Iran has a history of reverse-engineering Western and Russian military hardware, particularly jet engines. Some analysts speculate that the Jahesh-700 could be derived from the General Electric J85, an engine used in older American aircraft such as the F-5 Tiger II, which Iran has operated since before the 1979 Revolution.
