List of aircraft of the Iranian Air Force

Iranian Air Force

Hierarchical Structure
History
History of the Iranian Air Force
Personnel
List of senior officers
Air Force Rank insignia
Aircraft
List of aircraft
Air Bases
List of air bases

This is a list of aircraft types operated by the Iranian Air Force, not including those operated by the air arm of the Aerospace Force of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution prior to the foundation of the Air Force as a separate service in August 1955. In 2007, Iraq asked Iran to return some of the scores of Iraqi fighter plans that flew there ahead of the Persian Gulf War in 1991.[1] And as of 2014, Iran was receptive to the demands and was working on refurbishing an unspecified number of jets.[2][3] In late 2014, Iran gave some of the impounded former Iraqi military aircraft back to Iraq.[4]

Combat types

Air superiority fighters

Aircraft Origin Type Versions Number Years Notes
Grumman F-14 TomcatUSInterceptorF-14A40 to 441974–80 examples ordered, 79 were originally delivered; the only plane to use the Phoenix missile. 33 to 44 noted as operational. [5]

Iran currently has about 42 F-14 with two of them having been upgraded to F-14AM[6] Possibly around 24 Fully Mission Capable and the other 16 Partially Mission Capable

Mikoyan MiG-29 FulcrumRussiaFighter
Trainer		MiG-29A36199114 MiG-29 delivered in 1990. 20 delivered in 1991. 6 delivered again in 1993/1994. Iran also took 5 ex-Iraqi MiG-29 aircraft flown over in 1991, including one MiG-29UB. Only one dual seater was taken into service with 3 single seaters cannibalized for spare parts. The current number of MiG-29 in active service is unknown although most sources point to 25. According to Russian media up to 36 (30 MiG-29 9.12A and 6 MiG-29UB 9.51) of all MiG-29s have been overhauled and can now be armed with Nasr-1 anti-ship missile[7]

[8] [5] [9] [8]

Multirole fighters

Aircraft Origin Type Versions Number Years Notes
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom IIUSFighter-BomberF-4D/E
RF-4E		641968–According to Global Security 60 F-4D/E and 4 RF-4Es are in service.[5] 10 are F-4Ds and 50 are F-4Es.[10] F-4Ds/Es are currently undergoing an upgrade program which includes a new Chinese-built radar and other avionics (PL 7,PL12).(According to the aviationist (October 2013) the Qader cruise missile that went into mass production was successfully tested on an F-4).[5][9]
Northrop F-5 Tiger IIUSLight fighterF-5E
F-5F		60 [5]1974–According to Global Security 60 F-5's modernized[5] This includes about 16 F-5F dual seat trainers and 44 F-5E fighter bomber[10]
HESA SaeqehIranLight Fighter72006-
Su-22IranFighter-BomberSu-22M3/M4201991-The Iranian Air Force received 40 Su-20/22s from Iraq in 1991[11]. While non-operational for several years, Iran started in 2013 an overhauling program for these [12]. In March 2015, 10 of the Iranian Air Force Su-22 were transferred to the Syrian Arab Air Force to fight in the ongoing Civil War [13]. In July 2018, Iranian military technical experts successfully overhauled and modernized 10 Su-22s, giving them the ability to carry smart bombs, fire precision-guided munitions, transfer data from UAVs and in the near future the necessary systems to use air-launched cruise missiles with a range of 1500 km [14][15].

Ground attack

Aircraft Origin Type Versions Number Years Notes
HESA AzarakhshIranLight attack aircraftFirst Generation (includes twin-seat version)42015[5]
Sukhoi Su-22RussiaAttack aircraftSu-22M3/M410199110 aircraft put into service after overhauls and upgrades.[14]
Sukhoi Su-24RussiaStrike/air-to-air refuelling "buddy" tankerSu-24MK30 to 361991

12 aircraft supplied by Russia in 1991 [8]. 24 Iraqi examples were evacuated to Iran during the 1991 Gulf War and were put in service with the IRIAF. 30 Su-24MKs in service as of January 2013 [16][5]. Iran tested domestically produced, anti-radar smart missiles carried by Su-24 aircraft in September 2011, the IRIAF's Deputy Commander, General Mohammad Alavi said, according to IRINN TV.[17]

Sukhoi Su-25RussiaClose Air SupportSu-25K/UBK619917 ex-Iraqi Air Force Su-25s were transferred back to Iraq to fight ISIL

Future additions

Aircraft Origin Type Versions Number Years Notes
Saegheh 2IranFighterFighter jet02016The new generation of Saeqeh is a twin-seat fighter jet, which has more power, mobility, navigation equipment, fire power, pay load and operational range compared to its single-seat version.[18]
Qaher-313IranFighterFighter Jet??An Iranian Fifth-generation jet fighter. On 15 April 2017, the prototype Qaher-313 conducted taxi tests.[19]

Reconnaissance, patrol, and EW

Maritime Patrol

Aircraft Origin Type Versions Number Years Notes
Lockheed P-3 OrionUSmaritime patrolP-3F51974–3 in service

Transport/AWACS/Maritime patrol

Aircraft Origin Type Versions Number Years Notes
HESA IrAn-140IranTransport/AWACS/Maritime patrol0Project appears to have been stalled or cancelled.[20]

Transport and utility

Aircraft Origin Type Versions Number Years Notes
Boeing 707USVIP transport
transport
air-to-air refuelling tanker		707-368C
707-3J9C		1
3		1974–

1 tanker, 2 transports Global security reports that one 707 is a tanker and two are transports.[5]

Boeing 747USVIP transport/freighter747-100
747-100F
747-200F		62 tanker, 4 transports.[5]
Dassault Falcon 20FranceVIP transport3
Dassault Falcon 50FranceVIP transport?
Fokker F27 FriendshipNetherlandstactical airlift/transport and target towingF27-400M
F27-600		121972-
Ilyushin Il-76 CandidRussiatransport15According to magazine "Airforce", only 4~5 of them are fully operational
Lockheed C-130 HerculesUStactical airlift/transportC-130E
C-130H		19[5]
Lockheed JetStarUSVIP transportJetStar 821 operational in 2008
Pilatus PC-6 PorterSwitzerlandutility transport15
Antonov An-74Ukraineutility transport12All assigned to IRGCAF, not IRIAF.

Trainers

Aircraft Origin Type Versions Number Years Notes
Chengdu FT-7ChinaAdvanced TrainerFT.714Dual-seat J-7 conversion trainer. Some reports indicates that 5 are in service.[5] Scramble notes 14 active.[21]
Beechcraft BonanzaUStrainerF.3320
Fajr F.3IrantrainerF.32
HESA DornaIranTrainer12016Prototype
IAMI ParastooIrantrainer1212 as of 2005.[5]
HESA Simorgh / Northrop F-5 BIranAdvanced Trainer9F-5As converted domestically to F-5B standard.
Pilatus PC-7 Turbo TrainerSwitzerlandtrainer45
TB-21 Tobago / TB-200 TrinidadFrancetrainer1212 traniers in service.[5]
PAC MFI-17 MushshakPakistantrainer2525 trainers in service.[5]

Helicopters

Aircraft Origin Type Variant Number Years Notes
Boeing CH-47 Chinook US Heavy-lift transport helicopter CH-47C At least 40
Bell 214 US Search and rescue/medium-lift transport helicopter Bell 214C/214A 70[5]
Agusta-Bell 212 Italy Light transport helicopter AB-212 50 Licence-built in Italy
Agusta Bell 206 Italy Trainer/light transport helicopter AB 206 6 Licence-built in Italy.

Other types

These types were also purchased by the Iranian government

A number of other types have been in recent, or reported to be in, Iranian service. Many remain in reserve storage or are operated by the Army or Navy. Some recent types include:

Iran has a number of UAVs and UCAVs, currently under operation of the Iranian Army Aviation.

Iranian combat aircraft under development

Notes

  1. ↑ Colvin, Ross. "Iraq air force wants Iran to give back its planes".
  2. ↑ "With new US planes slow to arrive, Iraq seeks remnants of Saddam's air force to bomb ISIL".
  3. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/lovedaymorris?fref=ts. "Iraq cobbling together makeshift air force to fight ISIS". Washington Post.
  4. ↑ "Iran returns military aircraft to Iraq after 20 years". 23 June 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 "Iran Air Force". globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  6. ↑ "Analysis: Fakour Air-to-Air Missile".
  7. ↑ "Iranian Air Force receives overhauled MiG-29 fighter jet and new Nasr missiles - News - Russian Aviation - RUAVIATION.COM". www.ruaviation.com.
  8. 1 2 3 Sputnik. "Russia-Iran Military-Technical Cooperation in Facts and Details". sputniknews.com.
  9. 1 2 Taghvaee, Babak (June 2012). "Guardians of Tehran: Iranian Fulcrums". Combat Aircraft Monthly: 70–73.
  10. 1 2 "Scramble". www.scramble.nl.
  11. ↑ "01IRIAF Su 22 Fitter1 :: Mycity-Military.com". www.mycity-military.com.
  12. ↑ Boring, War Is (2013-12-18). "This Is How Iran Maintains Its Bizarre Air Force". War Is Boring. Retrieved 2017-07-19.
  13. ↑ "Warplanes: Iran Gives Syria Ten Iraqi Su-22s". www.strategypage.com. Retrieved 2017-07-19.
  14. 1 2 "IRGC overhauls, upgrades 10 Sukhoi SU-22 fighter jets". 25 July 2018.
  15. ↑ "Iran Upgrades 10 Su-22 Fighter Jets Domestically". www.defenseworld.net.
  16. ↑ . World Military Aircraft Inventory. "2013 Aerospace". Aviation Week and Space Technology. January 2013.
  17. ↑ "Su-24 front-line bomber". airforceworld.com. September 2011. Retrieved 5 Oct 2011.
  18. ↑ "HESA Saeqeh Saeqeh-80 Azarakhsh-2 fighter aircraft". airrecognition.com. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  19. ↑ "Iran Defense Ministry showcases achievements, including some making first appearances". Iran: PressTV. 15 April 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  20. ↑ "Iran rejects manufacturing Iran-140 passenger plane". 19 May 2015.
  21. ↑ "Military Database - Scramble". www.scramble.nl.

Further reading

  • Andrade, John (1982). Militair 1982. London: Aviation Press Limited. ISBN 0-907898-01-7.
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