October 22, 2015 at 5:16 am
with sanctions being removed, everyone and their mother are writing speculative articles about Iran wanting to update its air force after decades
like this
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/08/iran-france-cooperation-warplanes.html#
the main candidates are the same: mig-35, j-10b, and a dark horse, the Rafale.
which do you think is
1. the best option for Iran
2. the likeliest option Iran will actually do
some pros and cons
mig-35:
+ familiarity with mig-29
– relations with russia is complicated. half partner half rival for regional influence
j-10b
+ iran has very good relations with china, no competing interests
– iran didn’t have good experiences with their j-7s and might be reluctant to buy again
rafale
+ perhaps the best of the 3 options
– probably a lot of hostile reaction from sunni countries that are buying Rafale, and US. I dont think France has the balls to say no.