GarryB on Fri Jul 10, 2020 8:28 am
There have been rumors that China was going to license produce the TU-22 for about a decade now. How do you know this has not been an ongoing project for years? As for an oilsite, geopolitics and oil are often intertwined. Also I would expect Russia has quite a few frames in reserve.
China wanted to buy some Tu-22M3s in the mid 1990s and Russia said no. Russia said no because China wanted to buy 2.
You assume TU-22's are available for Iran to buy..why does China persist with the TU-16 vs buying the TU-22?
The Soviet Union sold Tu-22s to Iraq. I have never heard any comment before about Iran being interested in such aircraft, and I suspect the people behind this oil website are just stirring some shit up... creating speculations where none actually exist... playing geopolitical games...
AFAIK Iran are not interested in the Backfire, the only reason it has been mentioned is Russian use of the Backfire in the region and potential operational use from Iranian airbases that would allow much heavier payloads be delivered over much shorter distances...
Who says Iran are going to own them. If they are Chinese or Russian planes sitting on the tarmac of an Iranian Airbase, how do you think the US or Israel would feel about attacking them, as opposed to them being IRAF planes?
The suggestion in the article was that the aircraft Russia wants to base in Iran are the same aircraft Iran wants to operate for itself, but made the mistake of suggesting a Chinese upgrade Backfire would be of interest... Anyone who follows aviation would see that as being obvious BS... a bit like Iran also considering a Ford Class carrier with Chinese EMALS and EM weapons fitted...