Iran-140 in the News

From Iran Daily:

The Defense Ministry has manufactured five more small Iran-140 aircraft. According to Mehr News Agency, three of the planes have joined a local airline while two will be used by the police, Mehr news agency reported.

Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar said during a ceremony in Tehran that Iran can produce 12 planes on a yearly basis.

The Iran-140 is a twin-propeller aircraft with Ukrainian technology. It can carry 52 passengers and crew. IRNA quoted Mohammad-Najjar as saying all parts of the plane were produced inside Iran. Since 2003 there have been three Iran-140s in operation. Authorities say a dozen more will be produced by 2010.

Iran’s aircraft industry has suffered from US sanctions imposed since the early 1980s. But the restrictions have prompted Iran to develop its own manufacturing capability in key areas and take the punitive sanctions as a ’blessing in disguise’.