Mehrabad TAB 1 (THR / OIII)
Foreground: IRIAF Northrop F-5F Tiger II connected to air start unit
Background: IRIAF Grumman F-14A Tomcat
IRIAF Northrop F-5F Tiger II of 21st TFS (TAB 2), serial 3-7169 / 50696 (cn Z1016)
IRIAF Northrop F-5F Tiger II of 21st TFS (TAB 2), serial 3-7169 / 50696 (cn Z1016)
IRIAF Northrop (HESA) F-5E Saeghe of 23rd TFS (TAB 2), serial 3-7371 / S110-006 (cn S110-006)
Note "Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Ind. Co." (HESA) emblem, below canopy
IRIAF Northrop (HESA) F-5E Saeghe of 23rd TFS (TAB 2), serial 3-7371 / S110-006 (cn S110-006)
IRIAF Northrop (HESA) F-5E Saeghe of 23rd TFS (TAB 2), serial 3-7371 / S110-006 (cn S110-006)
IRIAF McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom II of 61st TFS (TAB 6), serial 3-6525
IRIAF McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom II of 31st TFS (TAB 3)
IRIAF McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom II of 31st TFS (TAB 3)
IRIAF F-4E Phantom II aircraft of 31st TFS from TAB 3
IRIAF F-4E Phantom II aircraft of 31st TFS from TAB 3
IRIAF F-4E Phantom II pilot, callsign "Predator"
IRIAF Grumman F-14A Tomcat from TAB 8, partial serial 3-60xx
IRIAF Grumman F-14A Tomcat from TAB 8, serial 3-6045 / 160343 (cn H-45)
IRIAF Grumman F-14A Tomcat from TAB 8, serial 3-6045 / 160343 (cn H-45)
IRIAF Grumman F-14A Tomcat from TAB 8, partial serial 3-60xx
IRIAF Grumman F-14A Tomcat, and Grumman F-14AM Tomcat "Modernized"
IRIAF Grumman F-14AM Tomcat "Modernized" from TAB 8, serial 3-6049 / 160347 (cn H-49)
IRIAF Sukhoi Su-24MK "Fencer" likely from 71st Training Squadron (TAB 7), serial 3-6809
IRIAF Sukhoi Su-24MK "Fencer" likely from 71st Training Sqquadron (TAB 7), serial 3-6809
Pair of IRIAF Sukhoi Su-24MK "Fencer" aircraft from TAB 7
Pair of IRIAF Sukhoi Su-24MK "Fencer" aircraft from TAB 7
IRIAF Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29UB (9-51) of 23rd TFS (TAB 2), serial 3-6302
IRIAF Dassault Mirage F1EQ-6 of 102nd TFS (TAB 10), serial 3-6209 recently refurbished in 2013
IRIAF Chengdu FT-7 type Airguard from TAB 5, possible serial 3-7712
IRIAF Chengdu FT-7 type Airguard from TAB 5, possible serial 3-7712
IRIAF Chengdu F-7 type Airguards likely from TAB 5
Photos: Meghdad Madadi and Foad Ashtari at Tasnim News Agency, Omid Vahabzadeh at Fars News Agency
12 comments:
Post amended 15 April 2015.
Despite its 1962 introduction, the F5 series is still used by many third tier militaries
Iran should really start a modernization of its airforce. I think Iran should start phasing out the F-5 (except Saeqeh which has some great characteristics), F-4 and F-7. These planes are still flying, sure they are upgraded but they keep the Iranian innovation and willingness to engage with generation 5 jet fighters low and that is dangerous. It is not even fun for the young pilots to fly 50 years old planes which their fathers or grandfathers have flown. Iran is doing great progress in the UAV arena, that is good and needed, but it must also modernize the airforce and also its transport/tanker planes. These machines are just too old and tired!
The fact that it is used by other countries doesn't mean much..The most credible iranian aerial asset IMHO is the F-14 and stand as such partly because of its rarity.
As for the F-5, it all depends how it is used. They make for great dogfighters yet their payload, range, RCS, and radars all are kinda outdated. I don't doubt they've been upgraded to a degree yet I remain quite surprised at the absence of any visible upgrade to the fighter. RCS and payload are a difficult thing to address (though I could imagine changing the location of the rear landing gear might help the latter somewhat), but a bigger radome and inflight refueling capacity seemed like a requirement to me. This would bring the iranian F-5 closer to its brazilian counterpart (second tiers if you ask me).
Instead the twin canted tail seems to suggest more of ground orientation according to most of the literature addressing the Saeqeh. An odd choice considering the heavy use of F-4 in the IRIAF.. However flying below radar would allow these dogfigthers to close in with an enemy that will almost certainly have information dominance. For this to be plausible the next Saeqeh model would need some tangible upgrades ; they pretty much need an in-flight refueling system, should at least start testing with bigger radomes and RWR radars, lets not forget a better engine then the J-85 might be helpful.. Hell they could put variable sweep-wings on the thing seeing the experience they have with such designs..
Bear in mind that Iran does not have the A version anymore, sold to other countries during the 70s. Only the E version, RF and F versions. The F-5 actually has a few advantages over more recent designs. Its greatest characteristics are: cheap running costs, easy maintenance, relatively strong Engines and extreme agility.
Iran's airforce will be modernized after regime change.
What to modernize it to except F-22, any other plane is waste of money? I guess Iran should wait for Su-50 to pass it's test or help in it's development. By the way this regime will not change entirely, it will evolve internally and gradually but no change. Better get used to it.
zeino71........Russia won't even sell the mediocre MIG 29 to Iran and you expect them to sell the Su-50? And by the way it's easy for apologists like yourself to say,"Better get used to it" because they surrendered themselves to the tyranny of the mobile crane hanging anti-Iran regime. A primitive and barbaric religious dictatorship that is based on 1400 years ago can not "evolve" into anything but more bloodshed and more tyranny until it ends in the dustbin of history. Better luck next time.
Well Anon 9:12, Anyways if they don't sell, we are right were we are and if the Russian perception changes due to recent events they might even sell as they did to India for extra cash (India invested in its development but it is not happy of its performance so far) , we just don't know.
"Better get used to the reality of things". No one says get used to what you think is tyranny. Certainly do what ever you think necessary but do it wisely and with realistic plan. I don't know if the term "apologist" would resemble me or not but what I do know is realism, is a big problem of Iranian politicians, that includes all since Pahlavi regime like the Toodeh, Fadaie (left and right) and the rest. I mostly define Iranian opposition as having ADD (attention Deficit Disorder) syndrome and instead of seeking possible ways to make a win win situation they follow their dreams. The ADD symptoms are very close to what they do and think, and instead people of Iran on average do have a realistic perception of the reality or very close to it. The problem is with delusional basis, wrong strategy is pursued and that is a big mistake.
The rest of your reply is name calling and rhetoric which I am not into it. After long time abroad we debate to reach a better understanding, the agenda is the debate and understanding itself and there is no luck necessary there as there is no need someone agree with you but you yourself. long live.
Reality http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5skh52Cpxq4
"Reality" ? Dude this is CG motion video supported exclusively by USN and USAF veteran speaking about their "accounts" of the war.... obviously trying to magnify their personal merit by inflating the threat posed by their very few air-to-air engagements situations they had to go through in this joke of a war.... with Iraqi forces totally overwhelmed by both NATO and Arab air-forces, qualitatively obviously as well and quantitatively by a ratio of 1:15, with Iraqis blockaded by the whole world (though with reason considering Saddam was once again the aggressor against one of its neighbors) and riddled with gigantic debts inherited from their war with Iran before the actual campaign even started. And yet we see these former pilots recounting their experience like they fought a war with the Soviet air force, man that is so lame, but still funny in its own way.
Tomahawks took care of most of the crucial SEAD and other associated dangerous jobs, F-15/16/18s were only secondary in that regard, they merely finished an already quite eroded version of what once stood as an already weak paper-tiger with pilots lacking critical practice and ground maintenance crews lacking experience and expertise with their newly acquired aircraft after the Iran-Iraq war, both of which can be directly attributed to Saddam's non-existent wisdom as the murdering and paranoid despot he was from the beginning to the end of his CIA-installed rule over Iraq. Pathetic.
There's another video in the same league, viewed from the Iranian eye for their own conflict, see, anyone with a decent level of 3D expertise and the needed hardware can pull such CG stunts and call it whatever they want, including "Reality" :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOrRW7Vrbaw
like the one you posted above, I call this propaganda and nothing else. But I could call this a closer reflection of "Reality" than the US piece you posted above was in regards to '91, since the Iran-Iraq air war was widely documented and acknowledged by external observers (read foreign radar monitoring activities around the warzone), Iranian as well as Iraqi pilots themselves.
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