Russia helping Iran’s efforts to trace stealth F-35 jets: reports

i24NEWS

August 25, 2020, 03:36 AMlatest revision August 25, 2020, 04:15 AM

Russia is helping Iran with technical means and intelligence to track advanced F-35 fighter jets, multiple media reports indicated Monday.

According to the Kuwaiti Al-Jarida newspaper, American F-35 jets entered Iranian airspace last Thursday for over a quarter-hour; the jets are said to have reached Tehran before returning to a base in Afghanistan.

The newspaper added that sonic booms were heard in the area of Tehran’s international airport Thursday as the aircraft flew at a speed above that of sound.

Iranian security services are said to have threatened consequences for those reporting on the sounds.

While the Iranian air defenses remained blind to the presence of the jets, a Russian satellite monitoring the country’s airspace is said to have spotted and filmed the unit. The satellite data was reportedly relayed to Tehran on Sunday morning.

In a separate report, Russia’s state-backed TASS agency reported Monday that Tehran succeeded in tracking F-35s using a Russian-made Rezonans-NE radar.

The agency quoted the radar’s manufacturer as boasting that the device has been in service for several years in Iran and was used to snoop on the movements of F-35s in early January amid tensions over Maj.-Gen. Qasem Soleimani’s death.

Earlier reports suggested that the Russian military hardware, including the advanced S-400 air defense batteries, were not doing too well against the F-35 stealth coating, which prompted Syria to look for help from China instead.