making sense of the Iranian airforce

[khak-2-sar]

1. Mig-29

atleast 68 with the possibility of 84-92 Not counting two seat trainers.

This represents the greatest technological foreign built fighter iran could purchase, in large numbers greater than a single squadron from 1987-2004


2. f-14
well under 60 aircraft with some reportedly used only as miniature awacs.
atleast a few were downed during the war with iraq, others must have been cannibalized or pilot accidents.


3. f-4
well under 70 aircraft believed to be used in compliment to the su-24 strike/bomber will be used for its large bombload,(16k of orderance)
will carry pgms and possibly stand off attack missiles.


4. f-5 (around 20-60)
Many were destroyed others were converted inside iran to two seat trainers light ground attack.


5. f1 mirage
some 18-32 ex iraqi f-1 mirages were flown to iran under some unpubliscised agreement between iraq and iran during and just before the gulf war.
used in yeoman service in support of interception and interdiction, has all but assumed the role of the f-5 in iranian service.
is believed to be used by IRgCAF


6. f-7
a chinese jet believed to still be serving in GUARDS AF.

7. azarkash
is believed to be derived from the f-5 aircraft with either a mig-21(f-7) engine , twin j-85s with afterburner (f-5 has no afterburner)
or believe it or not a Iranian designed jet engine which has many features of the f-14s engine. or could be nothing more than a new build f-5 with new tail configuration



8. saaqeh 80
is widely hailed and commented on as an eventual replacement of the f-14 is believed to be simmilar to the f5 and f-17 programmes, will however have modernized radar mach 2 ability in level flight and the ability to carry the iranian phoenix copy.


9. shafagh
is not a fighter aircraft, is a light attack weapons carrier and trainer aircraft with an immpressive range due to the fitting of a russian rd-33 engine without afterburner has some stealth charachteristics but is not a stealth aircraft.

it is however a very light cheap very long ranged strike aircraft.

10. su-25
as many as 18 but fewer than 40 russian-georgian trainer and attack aircraft believed to be serving in ircg

11. su-24
22-48 soviet/russian strike aircraft with downgraded avionics, a very good aircraft and with the retirement of the egyptian tu-16 the only aircraft in the region with a true dedicated strike bomber.
All thanks to ComradeAbdullah for the info.