The F-4E Phantom II and F-5E / F Tiger II fighters still remain from the Shah's legacy in Iran. Data on their numbers vary greatly, some reference books give very dubious numbers of 60-70 machines of each type. How many planes actually remained in flight condition is one of the strictly guarded Iranian secrets. The Iranian authorities are trying in every possible way to exaggerate their own capabilities, but judging by commercial satellite images, there has been too much free space in the airbase parking areas in recent years, and there are 20-25 Phantoms and Tigers in the ranks.
Examining satellite images of the large Bushehr airbase over the past 5 years, it is very difficult to find a couple of Phantoms at parking lots and runways, although the airbase can easily accommodate more than 50 aircraft. And this applies to literally all airfields, flying Iranian combat aircraft have now become very rare and, although formally the fleet of Iranian fighters by foreign observers is estimated at 130-150 units, most of the time the aircraft are idle in numerous hangars of airbases.
Satellite image of Google Earth: F-4E at Bushehr airbase
In the past, the F-4E Phantom II in Iran was considered as a versatile vehicle capable of intercepting and striking land and sea targets. During the war with Iraq, according to official Iranian data, the Phantom pilots won more than 50 aerial victories, but the Iranian F-4D / E fleet was reduced by about 70%. At the same time, the main losses were inflicted by the air defense missile system and anti-aircraft artillery fire.
F-4E Iranian Air Force
At the moment, the Phantom has no chance in air combat with modern fighters from countries that are considered the most likely opponents. When used as an air defense fighter, its ability to intercept low-altitude targets is completely unsatisfactory. The AN / APQ-120 radar has an unsatisfactory noise immunity by modern standards, and the AIM-7F medium-range missiles are hopelessly outdated. The only real sphere of application of this cult aircraft for its time was the bombing of ground targets. It was reported that in 2013, Iranian F-4E bombed the positions of Islamists in Iraq.
Satellite image of Google Earth: F-4E and F-5E at Mashhad airbase
The situation is approximately the same with the Iranian F-5E / F Tiger II. There are no more of them on airfields than Phantoms. This light fighter is considered not the easiest enemy in close maneuver combat. At least in the past, pilots of American Aggressor Squadrons have repeatedly won aerial training sessions with 4th generation fighters.
Single F-5E and double F-5F Iranian Air Force
However, good maneuverability is unlikely to help win air battles with Israeli F-15I and F-16I or American F / A-18E / F. Of the guided weapons, the Tiger can only carry very outdated melee missiles with TGS, and its AN / APQ-153 radar, in fact, is a radar sight with a very limited range.
In the past, the Tigers performed well during the Iran-Iraq War. During air battles with MiG-21 and MiG-23, they demonstrated superiority in horizontal maneuver. Due to the simple design, the percentage of serviceable fighters of this model was higher than among the Tomkats and Phantoms. Since the F-5s were in service in many countries, it was much easier to get spare parts for them.
In the second half of the 90s, the Iranian aircraft manufacturer HESA created the first Iranian fighter. Its design began in 1986, during the Iran-Iraq war. The aircraft, designated Azarakhsh, first flew in 1997 and resembled the F-5E in many ways. But it cannot be said that Azarakhsh became a complete copy of the F-5E. The aircraft is distinguished by its dimensions increased by 10-15%, almost twice the maximum take-off weight and the composition of the avionics. The shape of the air intakes was also changed, and on the Iranian fighter they were moved higher. The aircraft was originally built in a two-seater version.
Iranian fighter Azarakhsh
Compared to the F-5E, the flight data remained almost the same: the maximum speed is 1650 km / h, the ferry range is 1200 km. But at the same time, in comparison with the "Tiger", the maximum combat load has doubled - up to 7000 kg.
As is typical of designs created by the Iranian defense industry, the first self-produced fighter was a conglomerate of American and Soviet technology. According to Iranian data, the aircraft uses two Russian RD-33 engines with a thrust of 8300 kgf each, and the N019ME Topaz radar (export version of the MiG-29 radar). Compared to the F-5E, built in the late 70s, Azarakhsh received more advanced communication and navigation systems, as well as sensors warning of radar exposure, and automatic release of thermal and radar false targets. Compared to the "Tiger", the possibilities for the use of modern guided weapons have increased. Again, according to Iranian sources, the fighter can carry two UR R-27 with a semi-active radar guidance system and four melee missiles with IR seeker. NAR, free-fall bombs and napalm tanks are intended for work on the ground. As reported, the YJ-7 anti-ship missiles with a launch range of 35 km, with a television or radar seeker, have been introduced into the armament. The built-in armament remained the same as on the F-5E - two 20mm cannons.
However, the start of serial production of Azarakhsh fighters was greatly delayed. In the first 10 years that have passed since the flight of the first prototype, no more than 10 aircraft have been built. This is largely due to the shortage of aircraft engines, only in 2007 a contract was signed with Russia worth $ 150 million for the supply of IRI 50 RD-33. At the moment, the Iranian Azarakhsh fighter cannot be considered modern and compete with Israeli and American aircraft, which is why the actual refusal of its large-scale construction is connected.
Simultaneously with the tests of the first Azarakhsh fighter, the development of its improved version of the Saeqeh was carried out. Thanks to the improved aerodynamics, the maximum flight speed of the aircraft was brought to 2080 km / h, and the ferry range was 1400 km. This aircraft was originally designed as an interceptor and air superiority fighter. When creating an improved version, great attention was paid to increasing maneuverability, acceleration characteristics and weight perfection. The maximum takeoff weight of the fighter is 16,800 kg, which is 1,200 kg less than that of the Azarakhsh two-seat fighter. For air combat, up to seven medium and short-range missiles can be located on external suspensions. Compared to the F-5E, the flight data remained almost the same: the maximum speed is 1650 km / h, the ferry range is 1200 km. But at the same time, in comparison with the "Tiger", the maximum combat load has doubled - up to 7000 kg.
Iranian fighter Saeqeh
Saeqeh first took off from the runway in May 2004. Its external differences from Azarakhsh became a two-keel tail, in many respects similar to the American "Hornet", plumage and a single-seat cockpit. In August 2007, Iranian serial-built Azarakhsh and Saeqeh fighters were shown to the general public at an aviation exhibition held at the Mehrabat airbase in Tehran.
On February 9, 2015, in Tehran, a two-seat modification of the Saeqeh-2 was publicly presented and officially transferred to the Iranian Air Force. According to Deputy Defense Minister of the Islamic Republic, Brigadier General Amir Khatami, the task of the new fighter is to provide direct support in tactical operations and train pilots. This can be considered an indirect recognition of the fact that the Saeqeh fighter turned out to be of little use for the role of an air defense interceptor, and the Iranian industry is reoriented to the production of a multipurpose two-seat version.
Saeqeh-2 twin fighter
At the moment, Iran has built about three dozen Azarakhsh and Saeqeh fighters, which is absolutely insufficient to compensate for the gap formed in the Iranian Air Force in connection with the decommissioning of the exhausted Tomkats, Phantoms and Tigers. It is quite obvious that Iranian engineers are not able to independently create a modern model of a fighter. The situation is further complicated by the fact that Iran does not produce the key components necessary for the assembly of combat aircraft. Iran has to buy onboard radars, engines and a number of other units abroad. The fighters of their own construction, which entered the combat squadrons, are very different from each other in design and in the composition of the avionics, which seriously complicates the operation and repair.
Another weak point of the Iranian air defense system is the lack of radar patrol aircraft in this country. For the first time, the Iranians got acquainted with such equipment in 1991, when about 30% of the Iraqi Air Force flew to the Islamic Republic, fleeing destruction, including all the surviving Iraqi AWACS aircraft. For a long time, Iran's "flying radars" based on the Il-76MD were idle on the ground, and it was only at the beginning of the 21st century that they were put into operation. In the period from 2004 to 2009, the former Iraqi AWACS aircraft Baghdad-1 and Adnan-2 were repeatedly seen at Tehran airport, they could also be observed on satellite images of the Shiraz airbase.
Aircraft AWACS Simorgh
In Iran, the Adnan-2 aircraft with a rotating radar antenna was renamed Simorgh. Apparently, this machine has undergone a major overhaul and modernization of the radar hardware. The Iranians never disclosed the characteristics of the radio technical complex, but the original Tiger-G radar of the Adnan-2 aircraft could see high-altitude targets at a distance of up to 350 km, and to destroy the MiG-21 flying against the background of the earth could be detected at a distance of 190 km. In 2009, the only capable aircraft of the Simorgh radar patrol crashed during preparations for an air parade as a result of a mid-air collision with an F-5E fighter.
The only remaining Baghdad-1, with a radar antenna in the rear of the fuselage, due to the limited capabilities of the radar, cannot effectively control the actions of interceptors and issue long-range target designations and is mainly used to monitor the sea area. In February 2001, after the start of testing the first An-140, assembled in Isfahan, representatives of the HESA company announced that an AWACS aircraft would be created on the basis of this machine. However, due to the disruption in the supply of components by the Ukrainian side and their strong rise in price, the An-140 is not being assembled in Iran. Taking into account the close Iranian-Chinese ties, the purchase of AWACS aircraft of the "tactical" class from the PRC seems to be quite logical. Based on the criterion "price-quality", the aircraft ZDK-03 Karakorum Eagle created for Pakistan would be quite suitable for the Islamic Republic. But, most likely, everything depends on the financial side of the issue. Unlike our leadership, the Chinese government, based on immediate benefits, is not inclined to simply share critical technologies and supply modern weapons on credit.
Considering the Iranian air defense system as a whole, one cannot fail to note the successive steps that are being taken to strengthen it. First of all, this is due to the threat of airstrikes from the United States and Israel. In Iran, significant funds are spent on modernizing the control system, new radars and anti-aircraft missile systems are being created and purchased abroad. Much attention is paid to short-range and anti-aircraft artillery systems, which must directly counter air attack weapons operating at low altitudes. At the same time, about a third of the Iranian air defense personnel are on constant combat duty. Strategically important objects are protected not only by medium and long-range anti-aircraft missile systems, but also army mobile air defense systems, MANPADS calculations and numerous anti-aircraft guns.
At the same time, attention is drawn to the fact that the Iranian air defense is being built "from defense". For a country with an area of 1,648,000 km² in a hostile environment, it is completely unacceptable to have such a weak air force. Almost all available fighters can be considered obsolete, while the share of serviceable aircraft in the IRIAF is small. Without the development of an air defense system in the complex and the presence of modern interceptors, even such advanced anti-aircraft systems as the S-300PMU-2 will sooner or later be doomed to destruction. At the moment, the Iranian air defense forces are quite capable of inflicting serious losses on the air attack weapons of the aggressors, but in the case of long enough "remote" attacks with the help of numerous cruise missiles, they will be quickly depleted and destroyed. At the same time, a ground operation against the Islamic Republic is impossible under current conditions. Even in the event of the destruction or suppression of long-range anti-aircraft systems and air monitoring systems, enemy carrier-based and tactical aircraft of the enemy, involved in providing close air support, will inevitably suffer serious losses from numerous Iranian mobile air defense systems, MANPADS and anti-aircraft guns. In these conditions, given the sufficiently strong Iranian Ground Army, the prospects for a successful and fairly fast ground operation look very dubious.
Iran has a fairly well-developed airfield network with capital runways. In total, there are more than 50 such airfields in the country. On a permanent basis, it is possible to deploy fighters at 16 air bases. A radical strengthening of Iranian capabilities to repel air aggression could occur if large quantities of modern fighters were acquired abroad. At the same time, the scale of purchases should be no less than those that were carried out under the Shah. That is, we should talk about two to three hundred aircraft. The link between "heavy" and "light" fighters seems to be optimal. If desired and financially available, Iran could purchase multifunctional Su-30MK2 fighters.
In November 2016, the pilots of the Russian Knights aerobatic team flying Su fighters flashed their skills at the Iran Air Show - 2016 International Airshow, held on Kish Island. At the same time, group and individual aerobatics were shown. When the Russian fighters returned to their homeland, they were accompanied by F-4E and F-14AM of the Iranian Air Force over Iranian territory.
Unfortunately, our country now has nothing to offer Iran in the segment of light fighters. The MiG-35 is just being tested and has not yet entered the combat units of the Russian Aerospace Forces. One of the most likely candidates for the role of a mass light fighter in the IRIAF is the Sino-Pakistani JF-17 Thunder. This aircraft with a normal take-off weight of just over 9 tons is equipped with the Russian RD-93 aircraft engine or the Chinese WS-13. At high altitude, the aircraft can accelerate to 1900 km / h, the range in the version of an air defense fighter is up to 1300 km.
Fighters JF-17 Pakistani Air Force
The JF-17 can carry short and medium-range air-to-air missiles. According to the Pakistani military, the JF-17 Block 2 modification at a cost of $ 20 million on the foreign market is in no way inferior to the F-16A Block 15. The JF-17 Block 3 fighter with a radically improved avionics and equipped with AFAR radar is being sold for $ 30 million. can offer Iran J-10 light fighters, which are also powered by Russian AL-31FN engines. The Chinese J-10 fighter, based on the design of the Israeli IAI Lavi, is considered a modern 4th generation combat aircraft and has been entering the PLA Air Force combat units since 2007. So far, the export of J-10 is hindered by the ban on the supply of AL-31FN engines to "third countries", but with regard to Iran, the Russian side can lift this restriction. In 2010, it was reported that Iran and China were negotiating the sale of a large consignment of fighters worth $ 1 billion. However, the parties subsequently issued a denial. Perhaps the negotiations failed due to the PRC's unwillingness to supply J-10 on credit. But taking into account the fact that international sanctions against Iran are gradually being lifted and the country was able to freely sell its oil on the foreign market, money for the purchase of modern fighters will soon appear.
