Tazarv (Eagle) / Thunder / Tondar / Dorna / Dorneh
Iran's Defense Industries Organization announced plans for the production of the propeller-driven Parastu (Swallow) and jet-powered Dorna / Dorneh (Lark) training aircraft.
In February 1999 commander of the Air Force Brigadier-General Habibollah Baqaei offered a report on the achievements of the air force. He said the Air Force had made great progress since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in the operational, technical, educational and research fields and in manufacturing fighter planes of Azarakhsh and training plane of Tondar as well as radar receivers and is strong enough to defend the air-space of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
In June 1999 Iranian Air Force General Habibollah Baghal claimed that a locally designed Dorna (Lark) trainer aircraft had entered production.
In November 2002 it was reported that a new jet fighter manufactured in Iran was tested on the Kish Island. Tazarv (also written Tazarve and meaning Eagle in Farsi), was the third in a line of jet fighters made by Iran to be tested. Dorna and Tondar were previously tested. The JT2-2 Tazarv was the nomenclature applied to the third prototype of the jet-powered Dorna light trainer.
The Tazarv was another jet trainer, entirely of indigenous design, but powered by the General Electric J85 engines that Iranian agents sourced during their worldwide search for F-5 components. The Tazarv is powered by a General Electric J85-13 engine from the F-5E, with the afterburner removed. The Tazarv single-engined jet trainer was designed to specific Iranian requirements for an aircraft capable of fulfilling the basic phase of training, as well as advanced Lead-In-Fighter training.
