Iranian experts repaired and overhauled a C-130 military plane used for transporting military forces and equipment.

After 10 years since its last flight, the C-130 military plane was overhauled by the maintenance and logistics experts at the Shahid Doran Airbase.

The overhauling operations of the plane took 30,000 man/hours of work.

The C-130 plane joined the Iranian Air Force fleet after making its maiden flight.

In mid-August, a senior Iranian Air Force commander announced that Iran has attained self-sufficiency in overhauling military aircraft despite the sanctions imposed by the western countries.

“Thanks God and thanks to the Iranian Air Force experts and engineers, we have become self-sufficient in airplane overhauling, pilot training and many other fields,” Head of Shahid Sattari Aviation Science and Technology University Brigadier General Mehdi Hadiyan announced.

He reiterated that the Air Force is now self-sufficient in all areas while all its planes fly in accordance with the required standards.

In recent years, Iran has made great achievements in the defense sector and gained self-sufficiency in manufacturing essential military hardware and defense systems.

Yet, Iranian officials have always stressed that the country’s military and arms programs serve defensive purposes and should not be perceived as a threat to any other country.

In June, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces for Logistics Major General Mostafa Izadi announced Tehran’s preparedness to overhaul the most advanced jet engines in the world.

“I can say that we are able to provide the infrastructures to overhaul the latest version of any engines within 3 to 4 months,” Izadi said in Tehran.

He said that Iran Aircraft Industries (SAHA) is among the rare centers in the world which can overhaul and inspect different types of airplanes and engines of military and cargo planes.

“We have worked with many countries and have overhauled their planes and we have even overhauled planes in the African continent and South America,” Izadi said.

The regional states have also praised the high capabilities of Iranian Navy forces and experts in overhauling and building different types of planes and fighter jets.

In October 2014, Russian Air Force Commander Lieutenant General Viktor Bondarev said he was surprised to see the Iranian Air Force’s capabilities in overhauling different types of airplanes.

“I witnessed the efforts made by the Iranian technicians in overhauling fighter jets and cargo planes and as an air force expert I was happy and surprised to see such progress,” Bondarev said after visiting Iran’s Shahid Babayee Air Base in Isfahan province.

“The Iranian Air Force’s capabilities in building parts and equipment and overhauling different types of planes and helicopters indicate that the international sanctions have not affected the activities of the Force,” he added.

The Iranian Air Force announced in August that the Iranian experts in Shahid Nasser Habibi air base in Northeastern Iran managed to overhaul two mirage F-1 fighter jets.

The overhauling operations of the two fighter jets took 45,000 man/hours of work. The two aircraft joined the Iranian Air Force fleet after making their maiden flights.

Iran also announced in June that its experts in Shaheed Fakouri air base in Iran’s Northwestern city of Tabriz are overhauling different types of aircraft, including the strategic Mig-29 and F-5 fighter jet.

“The (country’s) second air base is in a high state of preparedness by overhauling its Mig-29 and F-5 fighter jets highly effectively and manufacturing different plane parts,” General Massoud Rouzkhosh said.

“Considering Iran and the region’s strategic and sensitive geographical situation, the armed forces should always remain in a state of full operational readiness,” the pilot added.

In August 2012, a Mig-29 fighter jet of the Iranian Army conducted its test flight successfully after being overhauled by local experts.

The aircraft which was down for 12 years could experience its first flight after it was overhauled at Shaheed Fakouri air base, which took 21,000 man/hour of work.

The Iranian experts spent 24 months to overhaul the strategic fighter jet and mounted three types of modern electronic systems onto the aircraft in a bid to increase its technical and backup capabilities.

By Fars News Agency