Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company (HESA)

HESA (Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company) is Iran's principal state-owned aerospace manufacturer, headquartered at Shahin Shahr in Isfahan Province. The company was established in 1976 and operates under Iran's Aviation Industries Organization.

Products

HESA's product lines span fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles. Its aircraft programmes include the IrAn-140 twin-turboprop transport, developed with Ukraine's Antonov, locally built jet trainers such as the Dorna and Yasin, and fighter types including the Saeqeh and Azarakhsh, both derived from the F-5 airframe. On the rotary-wing side, HESA has produced the Shahed 274/278/285 helicopter family, based on Bell 206 components.

HESA is also one of Iran's leading UAV manufacturers, producing the Ababil family of tactical drones used for reconnaissance and, in later variants, strike roles — see the Ababil 3 for details on one of its best-known models. Because of its role supplying Iran's armed forces, HESA has been under United States sanctions since 2008 and European Union sanctions since 2010.