Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force
The Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force is the aviation branch of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army. The present air force was created when the Imperial Iranian Air Force was renamed in 1979 following the Iranian Revolution. The IRIAF was heavily involved in the Iran–Iraq War, carrying out major operations like Operation Kaman 99, Operation Sultan 10, the H-3 airstrike, and the first attack on a nuclear reactor in history, Operation Scorch Sword.
After eight years of aerial combat in that conflict, the IRIAF has the second highest claimed number of fighter aces in the region, exceeded only by the Israeli Air Force; as many as seven IRIAF pilots claimed more than six kills, mostly achieved in the F-14 Tomcat. Veterans of the Iran–Iraq War formed the core of the IRIAF command. Due to its outdated equipment and lack of spare parts for its aircraft due to international sanctions, the IRIAF was unable to counter Israeli air strikes during the Iran–Israel War, with no reports of its fighter jets being deployed, which gave Israel air superiority over Iran.
History
In February 1979, the IRIAF came into being when the former Imperial Iranian Air Force was renamed following the Islamic Revolution in Iran. The British publishing company Orbis' Warplane partwork magazine seems to indicate the renaming did not actually take place until after the Iran–Iraq War had broken out.This "new" Iranian air force largely inherited the equipment and structure of the former IIAF, losing most of its leading officers in the course of post-revolutionary chaos, as well as due to the prosecution of those considered as loyal to the Shah, pro-U.S. or elsewhere by the new government in Tehran.
Due to strained relations with the West, Iran had to procure new equipment from Brazil, the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China. Since the Revolution, the exact composition of the IRIAF has been hard to determine. Many aircraft belonging to the Iraqi Air Force took refuge in Iran during the Persian Gulf War in 1991, and many were put into service with the IRIAF or taken apart for spare parts.
Due to the continuous spare parts shortages faced by the air force, a decision was made in the late 1980s to develop a local aerospace industry to support the air force.
In 2002, Iran with the co-operation of Ukraine, successfully started the manufacture of the Iran-140, a licence-built version of the Antonov An-140 transport aircraft. Simultaneously, Iran began construction of two domestically produced fighters, upgraded using technology from the F-14 Tomcat and the F-5 Tiger II. The fighters have been named the Azarakhsh and the Shafaq.
Since then, Iran has also become self-sufficient in the manufacture of helicopters. Iran claims that it is capable of producing the U.S. AH-1 Cobra gunship. Iran produces Bell Helicopter Bell 212 and Bell 206 helicopters in serial production. These are known respectively as the Shabaviz 2-75 and the Shabaviz 206.
Iran–Iraq War (1980–88)
A series of purges and forced retirements resulted in the manpower of the airforce being halved between February 1979 and July 1980, leaving the IRIAF ill-prepared for the Iran–Iraq War, also called the "1st Persian Gulf War". The sudden Iraqi air strikes against eight major Iranian airbases and four other military installations, launched on the afternoon of 22 September 1980, came as a complete surprise and caused a shock in the IRIAF.On 23 September 1980, the Iranians retaliated with Operation Kaman 99, which involved 206 F-4, F-5 and F-14 aircraft. In that operation, 40 F-4 Phantoms, armed with Mark 82, Mark 83 and Mark 84 bombs and AGM-65 Maverick missiles, took off from Hamadan. After refueling mid-air, the Phantoms reached the Iraqi capital Baghdad, where they attacked the al-Rashid, al-Habbaniyah and al-Kut airbases. Meanwhile, eight more F-4s took off from Tehran and launched a second attack on the al-Rashid airbase.
Iran proceeded to launch 58 F-5E Tiger IIs from Tabriz, which were sent to attack Mosul Airbase. After the attack on Mosul Airbase, another 50 F-5Es were dispatched to strike Nasiriyah Airbase, which was heavily damaged.
As all 148 Iranian F-4s and F-5s had been sent for a bombing raid on Iraq, 60 F-14 Tomcats were scrambled to defend Iranian airspace against a possible Iraqi retaliation. Iranian F-14s managed to down 2 Iraqi MiG-21s and 3 Iraqi MiG-23s. An Iranian F-5E also shot down an Iraqi Su-20 during the operation. Iraqi MiG-23s managed to down 2 F-5Es, while Iraqi MiG-21s downed 2 F-5Es. The Iraqis also shot down one of their own Il-76MD strategic airlifters with a SA-3 SAM.
The Iraqis were well prepared for the attack, and had flown most of their air force to other Arab countries, such as Saudi Arabia. This made sure that most of the Iraqi Air Force survived the operation.
Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi military were dealt a heavy blow when Iranian Air Force vulnerabilities failed to materialize. All Iraqi air bases' near Iran were out of order for weeks and, according to Iran, Iraq's aerial efficiency was reduced by 55%. This allowed Iranians to regroup and prepare for the upcoming Iraqi invasion.
Although the readiness rates of the IRIAF significantly increased in the following months, its overall role and influence declined, as the clerical government prioritized resources for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps militias, and simultaneously attempted to develop a separate air arm for the IRGC.
Despite limitations and sanctions, the IRIAF achieved a successful kill rate in air-to-air combat against Iraqi jets. In air-to-air engagements, Iran's kill ratio was roughly 5:1, which was surpassed by the Israelis against Syria in 1982 and the US in the Gulf war in 1991. It got to the point where Iraq ordered its pilots to avoid air-to-air engagements, especially with the F-14.
After the successful liberation of most Iranian areas captured by the Iraqis in the first half of 1982, the situation of the IRIAF changed completely. From an air arm that was offensive by nature, it was largely relegated to air defense and relatively infrequent bombing attacks against targets of industrial and military significance inside Iraq. Simultaneously, the IRIAF had to learn how to maintain and keep operational its large fleet of U.S.-built aircraft and helicopters without outside help, due to American sanctions. Relying primarily on antiquated equipment purchased from the US in the 1970s, the Iranians began establishing their own aerospace industry.
From 1984 and 1985, the IRIAF found itself confronted by an ever-better organized and equipped opponent, as the Iraqi Air force—reinforced by deliveries of advanced fighter-bombers from France and the Soviet Union—launched numerous offensives against Iranian air bases, military bases, industrial infrastructures, power plants, oil-export hubs, and population centers. These became better known as "The Tanker War" and "The War of the Cities".
To defend against an increasing number of Iraqi air strikes, the IRIAF leaned heavily on its large fleet of Grumman F-14 Tomcat interceptor fighters. Tomcats were mainly deployed in defense of the strategically important Khark Island, the main hub for Iranian oil exports, and Tehran. Over 300 air-to-air engagements against IQAF fighters, fighter-bombers, and bombers, were fought in these areas between 1980 and 1988.
Confronted with the fact that it could not obtain replacements for equipment lost in what became a war of attrition against Iraq, the IRIAF remained defense-orientated for the rest of the conflict, conserving its surviving assets as a "force in being". From mid 1987, the IRIAF found itself confronted with U.S. Navy fighters over the Persian Gulf. A number of confrontations between July 1987 and August 1988 stretched available IRIAF assets to the limit, exhausting its capability to defend Iranian air space against Iraqi air strikes.
With this brutal air fight during 8 consecutive years, many Iranian fighter pilots claimed world records during the war, such as General Yadollah Khalili, who holds the worldwide record of the longest straight flight in a fighter plane, having flown an F-14 non-stop for 11 hours, aerial refuelling 8 times during the process. Fereydoun Ali Mazandarani was the first pilot to aerial refuel an F-14 in a night environment.
As a result of this war, the IRIAF developed proven tactics and skillful battle tested pilots, becoming one of the most experienced air arms in the region.
The most notable Iranian fighter pilots were Fereydoun Ali Mazandarani, Fazlollah Javidnia, Jalil Zandi and Shahram Rostami. Other notable pilots include, Hossein Khalatbari, Abbas Doran, Hassan Harandi, Abolfazl Mehreganfar, Ghafour Jeddi, Abbas Babaei and Ali Eghbali Dogahe among many others.
Post Iran–Iraq War
Immediately after the end of the Iran–Iraq War, the IRIAF was partially rebuilt through limited purchases of MiG-29 fighters and Su-24 bombers from the Soviet Union, and F-7M and FT-7 fighters from China. While providing needed reinforcement to the Iranian Air Force, these types never replaced the older, U.S.-built F-4 Phantoms, F-14s, or F-5s. Instead, the IRIAF continued its efforts to keep these types in service, and began a number of projects to refurbish and upgrade them.1990s
During the 1991 Persian Gulf War, numerous Iraqi pilots flew Iraqi Air Force aircraft to Iran to avoid destruction by coalition forces. The Iranians impounded these aircraft and never returned them, putting them in service in the IRIAF and claiming them as reparations for the Iran–Iraq War. The aircraft included several Mirage F1s, MiG-23s, MiG-29s, Su-20s, Su-22Ms, Su-24s, Su-25s and a number of Il-76s, including the secret, one-off AEW-AWACS Il-76 "ADNAN 1" prototype.Even after the cease-fire with Iraq, the IRIAF carried out several air raids against Kurdish bases in northern Iraq. The first raid was conducted using eight F-4s armed with rockets and cluster bombs on 6 April 1992 against People's Mujahedin of Iran's Camp Ashraf. During this event one F-4 was shot down by either insurgent or Iraqi military AAA. Both pilots, Lt. Col Amini and Cpt. Sharifi, were captured, and freed in 1998. Despite threats of response, Iraq was not able to retaliate due to its own fight against Kurdish separatist guerrillas and the Western-imposed no-fly zones that crippled and limited its air force's operations.
In 2007, Iraq asked Iran to return some of the scores of Iraqi fighter planes that flew there ahead of the Gulf War in 1991. In 2014, Iran was receptive to the demands and was working on refurbishing an unspecified number of jets. In late 2014, Iran returned 130 military aircraft to Iraq.