Iranian army deployed the country's first home-made fighter bomber jets Wednesday in an ongoing military exercise, the state-run television reported.

"The bomber Saegheh or lightening was designed, optimized and improved by our own experts. It is similar to F-18 (U.S. fighter jets) but more powerful," said the report.

The Iranian air force has commissioned Saegheh after many test flights in the past year, the report added.

According to a TV footage, the fighter bomber with only one pilot in a small cockpit was launching two rockets.

The plane can carry both rockets and bombs, said the report.

The Iranian army launched the large-scale military exercise since Aug. 19 and will continue for about five weeks.

In the past two weeks, Iran has tested some new weapons, such as sub-to-surface missile, "Air Mining System" and short range surface-to-surface missile.

Source: Xinhua