Speaking to the Tasnim News Agency, Brigadier general Dehqan pointed to the development process of Qaher and said the fighter jet has been designed to conduct close air support missions.

It has been undergoing pre-flight tests, he said, adding that one of the tests the aircraft should undergo is fast taxiing.

Taxiing is the movement of an aircraft on the ground, under its own power, in contrast to towing or push-back where the aircraft is moved by a tug.

The former defense minister went on to say that the Qaher fighter jet is currently conducting fast taxi runs.

He also pointed to the development of another homegrown jet, dubbed Kowsar-88, saying that it is also performing fast taxi runs, preparing for take-off.

The Iranian fighter jet Qaher-313 was unveiled in February 2013. The single-seat stealth fighter jet can take off and land on short runways.

Iranian military experts and technicians have in recent years made great headways in manufacturing a broad range of indigenous equipment, making the armed forces self-sufficient in the arms sphere.

Tehran has always assured other nations that its military might poses no threat to the regional countries, saying that the Islamic Republic’s defense doctrine is entirely based on deterrence.

The war game code-named Aerial Power of Fadaeeyan-e Harim-e Velayat 7 (Devotees of Velayat Airspace 7) started on Tuesday morning in the central province of Isfahan with the participation of all air bases of the IRIAF.

During the third stage of the first day of the aerial exercises, Iran’s Sukhoi Su-24 fighter-bombers and Phantom combat planes conducted carpet bombing.

Carpet bombing, also known as saturation bombing, is a large aerial bombing done in a progressive manner to inflict damage in every part of a selected area of land. The phrase evokes the image of explosions completely covering an area, in the same way that a carpet covers a floor.

Earlier General Massoud Roozkhosh, the spokesman for the war game, had said the military exercises, will last for two days.

Dozens of bomber airplanes, fighter jets, military transport aircraft, communication and reconnaissance planes, tanker aircraft and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are slated to take part in the war game, he stated.

The commander also said various defense systems and weapons developed or upgraded by the country’s academic and industrial centers and the Ministry of Defense are planned to be showcased during the two-day drills.

Various kinds of domestically made missiles and bombs, including smart heavy and semi-heavy bombs as well as laser and radar-guided missiles, will be used in the war game, General Roozkhosh went on to say.

Iran’s Air Force holds annual war games in a bid to boost capabilities to defend the country’s airspace.