Mini jet plane

Similarities: This picture of the fighter jet at its unveiling is virtually identical to the so-called action shot of the aircraft in flight

But when the picture of the jet supposedly in flight was published on the Khouz News website, eagle-eyed Iranians quickly pointed out the similarities between the image and a picture of the aircraft taken at the official unveiling in Tehran on February 2, according to a France 24 report.

The two pictures of the plane are identical save for the backdrop, with the Tehran aircraft hangar replaced by Iran's Mount Damavand in the so-called action shot of the Qaher-313.

Photoshop: Eagle-eyed observers claim the Iranian jet was superimposed upon a generic picture of Mount Damavand

Aviation experts who examined photographs of Iran's jet at its unveiling drew comparisons with a miniature plane.

David Cenciotti, of The Aviationist blog, said the jet appeared to be 'nothing more than a large mock-up model' and that the 'basic' cockpit would struggle to even accommodate a pilot.

Ceremony: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was present at the unveiling of the Qahar-313 in Tehran earlier this month

His views were echoed by experts from aviation magazine Flight International, who said they suspected poor-quality footage released by Iran of the aircraft in flight was in fact of a remote-controlled plane fashioned to resemble the Qaher-313.

The president of the Islamic republic insisted at the unveiling that the Qaher-313 reflected Iran's will to 'conquer scientific peaks'.

Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi said the jet had been designed and built by Iranian aerospace experts and was capable of flying at low altitude, carrying weapons, engaging enemy aircraft and landing at short airstrips.

Defiant: Iran claims its domestically manufactured jet boasts state-of-the-art technology and can evade radar

It is one of several military designs rolled out by Iran's military since 2007.

Tehran has repeatedly claimed to have developed advanced military technologies in recent years but its claims cannot be independently verified because the country does not release technical details of its arsenals.

The Islamic republic launched a self-sufficiency military program in the 1980s to compensate for a Western weapons embargo that banned export of military technology and equipment to Iran.