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.

[amin]

thanks my dear friend

khak-2-sar,

That list is not correct. This is more accurate. It is based on information from Tom Cooper's Iran-Iraq War in the Air and other sources: (numbers shown are aircraft in service, might not be numbers active)

1.) F-5E: 66

2.) F-5F: ~14

3.) RF-5E: ?

4.) F-4D: 15

5.) F-4E: 71

6.) RF-4C/E: 8

7.) F-14A: 57

8.) F-7N: ~35

9.) MiG-29A/UB: ~35

10.) MiG-29C: ?

11.) MiG-29SMT: 24?

12.) Su-24MK: ~36

13.) Su-25K/UBK: 12-18 (IRGCAF)

14.) F1EQ/BQ: 23

15.) Azarakhsh: 6-30

P.S. I will add info about each later.

Some more info by me on the IRIAF:

Iranian Indigenous Projects:

1.) Azarakhsh (Strike fighter)- An enlarged F-5F with shoulder mounted air-intakes similar to those on the F-4. It has a medium range Iranian built radar and can fly at Mach 2. By 2001, Iran had 6 Azarakhsh aircraft and the plan was to have 30 over the next three years. Thus by now all 30 were probably delivered. The Azarakhsh-2 has entered production, but its details are not known except that is substantially different from the Azarakhsh.

2.) Sa'eqeh-80/ FB-44 Iranian Lion (Owaz?) (Interceptor fighter)- This is not to be confused with the Sa'eqeh shown in July. It is a medium size interceptor with features from both the YF-17 and F-14 and is a unique aircraft not resembling any other in the world. It has yet to be seen in public but there are two known prototypes ready for production that have been flight-testing since 2001. It is cited as Iran’s most advanced project.

3.) Sa'eqeh (Fighter)- Seen in July, it is an F-5E with twin tail fins, improved radar, greater thrust, fly-by-wire controls, etc. The status of this project and its relations to the Azarakhsh-2 is unknown. Might just be a tech demonstrator or an upgrade programme.

4.) Shafaq (three variants- one seat fighter, dual seat attacker, and dual seat combat capable trainer)- Once thought to be subsonic the Shafaq is now known to be supersonic with a substantially long range due to its enormous fuel capacity. It has reduced radar cross-section and is made of radar-absorbing material. It also has a large leading edge root extension (LERX) and utilizes multifunctional LCD displays along with HOTAS controls. It is believed that it uses a single rd-33 but it is not confirmed. The first prototype was scheduled for 2008 but Iran announced that the prototype is ready for flight-testing already.

Some (there is more) Iranian upgrades on foreign aircraft:

1.) F-14A-
-Increased the AWG-9's range and upgraded its capability
-Integrated the R-73 AAM and various air-to-ground weapons with the aircraft
-Manufacturing upgraded AIM-54A Phoenix long-range air-air missiles

2.) F-4D/E-
-Upgraded the APQ-120 Radar by improving it's range (almost doubled)
-Adding Automatic Targeting and Moving Target Indication (MTI) capabilities
-Modified the F-4s to carry and fire the Kh-58 anti-radiation missile with its associated targeting pod as well as R-73 and PL-7 short-range air-to-air missiles

3.) F-5E-
-Upgraded the Tigers under the ''Offogh-project'', which improved the range of the F-5E APQ-159 radar and enabling the aircraft to carry advanced missiles like the PL7, AIM-9P Sidewinders, and R-60 Aphids

4.) MiG-29A/UB-
-Modified avionics and western AAM integration
-Equipped the aircraft with indigenously-developed 99-lmp gallon (450-litre) external fuel tanks under project "Khorsid"
-Given in-flight refueling capability

5.) Su-24MK-
-Given in-flight refueling capability
-Modified to carry the Upaz-A buddy refueling system to extend the range of other aircraft
-Active radar jammers and electronic countermeasures installed.

ETC. (Including helicopter, AEW/AWACS, and transport projects both new designs, new builds, and upgrades)

[user0000]

Interesting. Thanks, AryanShah.

[Tehrani53]

How are those HOMAFARS doing in the force and what is the highest ranked HOMAFAR in service since the change effecting their promotion to the officer ranks??????

[Tehrani53]

How are those HOMAFARS doing in the force and what is the highest ranked HOMAFAR in service since the change effecting their promotion to the officer ranks??????

this is another list,.. i think it is more logical...
name type quantitiy inservice

H-6D Bomber 6 n/a
Tu-22M Bomber 4 n/a
F-7M Strike 65 30
Mirage F1EQ
(Impounded Iraqi aircraft) Multirole Fighter 24 24
F-14A Interceptor 30 30
F-4D/E Multirole Fighter 76 70
MiG-23BN Fighter 24 n/a
MiG-27 Strike 24 n/a
MiG-29A
(Includes impounded Iraqi aircraft) Fighter 35 35
Su-27 Fighter 26 Reportedly On Order
F-5E/F Fighter 73 60
F-5A/B Fighter/Training 33 n/a
F-7M Fighter/Ground Attack 30 30
FT-7 Combat Trainer 5 5
F-6 Fighter/Ground Attack 20 16
Su-20 Fighter/Ground Attack 2 n/a
Su-22M Fighter/Ground Attack 35 n/a
Su-24MK
(Includes impounded Iraqi aircraft) Strike 33 33
Su-25
(Impounded Iraqi aircraft) Ground Attack 7 7
Azaraksh Ground Attack 30 On Order 4
P-3F Maritime Patrol 2 n/a
Il-76
(Impounded Iraqi aircraft) AEW 1 1
RF-4E Reconnaissance 15 6
Boeing 707-3J9C Tanker/Transport 4 4
Boeing 707-3J9C Transport 10 10
Boeing 747F-125/131
(Some converted to tanker) Transport 7 7
Boeing 747-2J9F
(Some converted to tanker) Transport 4 4
AN-74TK-200 Transport 10 10
F27-400M/600 Transport 10 10
Y-12 Transport 9 9
Il-76MD
(Includes impounded Iraqi aircraft) Transport 15 15
C-130E/H Transport 34 23
IAMI Iran 140 Transport 45 45
Boeing 737-286 Communications 1 1
F-28 Communications 1 1
Falcon 20E Communications 1 1
L-1329 Jetstar 8/II Communications 2 0
Commander 681B Communications 3 3
PC-6/B Utility 15 15
F33A/C Training 26 20
EMB-312 Tucano Training 22 15
PC-7 Training 45 45
Mushshak MFI-17 Training 22 22
Y-7 Training 14 On Order
Parastu Training 7 7
T-33 Training 7 7
MiG-29UB Training 6 6
Shahbaz (Dorna) Training 4 4
MiG-17 Training 17 n/a
S-68 Training n/a n/a

that's impressive just make sure non of them crashes into a civillian building again..

[user0000]

Originally Posted by Killur

that's impressive just make sure non of them crashes into a civillian building again..

Is this some kind of a joke? That's very low of you, to make jokes of Iranians shortly after a tragedy.

I don't make jokes of Iranians, I critisice the way you praise your air force, even when such tradegies happen.


lol, look who's talking, your people were dancing in the streets burning american flags after 9\11..

Originally Posted by Killur

I don't make jokes of Iranians, I critisice the way you praise your air force, even when such tradegies happen.


lol, look who's talking, your people were dancing in the streets burning american flags after 9\11..

Iran was? Last time I checked, it was the FIRST country to condemn the attacks hours after it occurred.

[isr agent]

Originally Posted by hurdy

Iran was? Last time I checked, it was the FIRST country to condemn the attacks hours after it occurred.

Hypocrisy my friend, its an ABC thing in alot of governments you better get used to it, often comes with "officials says...", the country condemned but its people were dancing of joy.

Originally Posted by isr agent

Hypocrisy my friend, its an ABC thing in alot of governments you better get used to it, often comes with "officials says...", the country condemned but its people were dancing of joy.

The fact is that it was condemned nonetheless, mainly that the terrorists were not acting in the name of Islam while several other Muslim countries could care less..

And Iranians dancing on the streets when 9/11 happend? All I saw back then if I can remember was mainly Pakistani's and Arabs doing the dancing.

[user0000]

Originally Posted by Killur

I don't make jokes of Iranians, I critisice the way you praise your air force, even when such tradegies happen.


lol, look who's talking, your people were dancing in the streets burning american flags after 9\11..

Those C-130 air frames are ancient. This was inevitable (even with our self-sufficiency in spares). These accidents have occured everywhere, the United States included.

And as for your latter statement, it is so ignorant and hateful that I will refrain from responding to it!