Tehran to unveil first Iran-Made passenger plane

   Iran plans to unveil its first home-made passenger plane by the end of October, an Iranian aviation official has announced. Managing-Director of the Aviation Industries Organization of the Iranian Defense Ministry Manouchehr Manteqi stated that the first totally Iranian plane, with a capacity of 100 passengers, will be unveiled in the Iranian calendar month of Mehr (September 23-October 22), Iranian news agency (Fars) reported. Earlier, the Kiev headquarters of Antonov Aerospace Company and Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company have signed a contract to manufacture 78 Antonov-148 aircraft. Dmitry Kiva, the chairman of the Kiev headquarters of the Antonov Aerospace Company, made the remarks at the Paris Air Show in June, and expressed the hope that all the planes would be manufactured by the end of 2011.