Azarakhsh vs Sa’eqeh
I found some more info on the issue
Azarakhsh (“Lightning”):
One could say Iran’s fighter projects basically start with the F-5E. Iran achieved the ability to produce F-5Es from scratch after producing F-5E fuselages, avionics, etc. for refurbishment of damaged F-5Es (which delayed Iran considerably). This resulted later into the Simorgh project, which using F-5E parts converted F-5As into F-5F-like dual seat trainers.
Iran took this ability a step further when IACI developed a new F-5E based fighter. It had strengthened and reinforced composite wings (with new heavy duty wing spars) and stronger newly designed hard points. This provided the aircraft with the ability to carry two 1,000kg Sattar-1/2 laser and electro-optical precision guided munitions. This also required placing a television screen in the cockpit, installing new displays, and adding a laser designator. A new multi-purpose Iranian designed, Russian derived radar was also installed on the aircraft (possibly with ground mapping ability). It supposedly incorporates Iranian parts and technology especially from the AN/APQ-120 fire control system of the F-4E. The radar is roughly similar to or slightly more advanced than the Russian Kopyo “Spear” radar. The new radar resulted in the aircraft having a 17cm longer radar dome than a regular F-5E. However, this is unnoticeable to the untrained eye. One more important improvement was made to the fighter. Its twin J-85 turbo-jet engines were uprated with stronger thrust. Thus, the Azarakhsh was born, a single-seat lightweight precision ground attack strike-fighter. This fighter is almost identical to an F-5E although one noticeable difference to an amateur aircraft observer is its camouflage pattern.
Sa’eqeh/ Sa’eqeh-80 (“Lightning”)
The next step in the Iranian fighter evolutionary trail is the Sa’eqeh or Sa’eqeh-80. The “80” which was later dropped stood for the Iranian year of 1380, the year in which the aircraft was planned first to fly. It is important to note that the Sa’eqeh, unlike the Azarakhsh, was developed by MATSA (with design help from SSAFU) not IACI. In a nut shell, the Sa’eqeh could be summarized as a very significant upgrade to the Azarakhsh, an “Azarakhsh-2”, including all the improvements of the Azarakhsh. In fact, this project is possibly also known as Azarakhsh-2 in Iranian official circles. The Iranians simply like new names and most of the time when an aircraft design is modified or upgraded it takes a new name. To understand this one must need only look at Tazarve trainer project, which in its different forms over time, has been called Ra’ad, Dorna, Tondar, and Tazarve. Some names that pop into my head when thinking of the Sa’eqeh are “Super F-5”, “F-5 on steroids”, and “what you get when a F-5E and YF-17 have babies.” (Sorry, just a little Iranian aerospace humor.)
One noticeable difference on the Sa’eqeh is that the single F-5E tail fin of the Azarakhsh was replaced by twin F/A-18 style composite tail fins. It is believed that the Sa’eqeh incorporates a fly by wire system, required due to the aerodynamic unstableness created by the new tail fins. More significantly, it is believed that the J-85 turbojet engines used in the Azarakhsh were replaced with Iranian made afterburning turbofan J-85 engines with substantial technology from the TF-30 engine. These engines have considerably more thrust than their older counterparts.
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