Thursday, April 17, 2008

Iran Front-Line Fighter Jets


The photos provided by Mehr and Fars news agencies of today’s flyby of IRIAF combat aircraft over Tehran depict Iran’s front-line fighter service. Iran military analyst Mark Pyruz has identified some 21 IRIAF fighter jets that took part in flyby.

“All aircraft appeared immaculate and in refurbished condition,” Pyruz observed.

The fighters displayed were:

- Six F-14A Tomcats
- Two F-4E Phantom II’s and one RF-4E
- One MiG-29A and one MiG-29UB
- Two Mirage F-1BQ’s and one F-1EQ
- Three Saeghah 80
- Two Azararaksh and one two-seater F-5
- One Illushyn Il-76 AWACS

In spite of the sanctions, Pyruz observes, Iran has a capability to field a fighter defense, consisting of a variety of Western, Russian and Chinese aircraft.

7 comments:

Winston said...

Those junks won't stand a chance against superior coalition air power. Iraqi air force, in 1990-91 campaign, didn't stand a chance despite their great equipments they had such as Mirage F-1s and MiG-29s and 25s. The Iranians won't even fight, IMO. All the garrisons are full of drug addicts. Soldiers and enlistees r heavily drugged and remain addictive to one sort of drug. Smoking joint is a norm in most bases and military facilities and MPs run a network of drug smuggling. The mullahs army will collapse faster than the Saddam's did in 2003 if it ever comes to that.

Nader Uskowi said...

Bunch of addicts? I thought the white House considered Iran as one of the “greatest threats” of the century.

Joseph Sixpack said...

Western, Chinese, and Russian aircrafts. I wonder what obstacles this presents in running the maintenance and other logistics programs to support three differently manufactured types of aircraft. I know most stuff manufactured in the west and Russia is labeled in Russian and English - not sure about the Chinese stuff. I wonder if the parts for the western aircraft use the English or metric system. If any of that is the case, I wonder how fluent in Russian/English/other the Iranian mechanics must be.

Nader Uskowi said...

Good questions,Joseph. Let me defer the answers to Mark. He could have some info on maintenance issues.

Winston said...

Rev. Guards' Special Forces and their proxy units in Lebanon and Gaza and Europe are serious threats to the world peace and stability but the internal Iranian military is dead and rusty.

Nader Uskowi said...

Dear winston, thanks so much for the clarification. Allow me to explain to you my problem with this type of reasoning:

The Iranian military does not belong to the sitting government in Tehran; it belongs to the nation. Iranian people provide the manpower, pay for equipment from resources belonging, and expect their military to defend the country in case of an invasion.

In 1980, when Saddam attacked Iran, a number of Air Forces pilots had been imprisoned by the revolutionary government. They were transferred from prison directly to the air bases and flew heroic missions over Iraq and many lost their lives defending their country. Hundreds of thousands Revolutionary Guards, Basij, and Artesh officers and troops lost their lives defending their country and kept Iran free of occupation from Saddam forces. Without the armed forces, Saddam would have swallowed chunks of Iranian territory, including the oil-rich Khozestan.

Iranian armed forces belong to the nation. Governments come and go. Anyone is indeed entitled to oppose the sitting government. We have to be careful not to offend the institution of military that has kept Iran independent.

If Operations Iraqi Freedom thought us a lesson, it was that a superior invading army can overthrow a sitting government, but can not bring democracy and development to the people of the country. In fact it destroys the very fabric of the nation and its institutions, like its military, and rolls back the country’s development for many years. Only charlatans like Ahmad Chalabi could promise the restoration of happiness and freedom for a people under occupation.

The Iranian military should be defended as the only national institution that can defend Iranian soil.

Is there a widespread drug addiction problem in Iran? Absolutely. This is one of saddest problem this country faces. And the government has shown its ineffectiveness in fighting the epidemic. Has this problem affected the military as well? I am sure it has, although I have no stats. But this is not something that should comfort Iranians, including those who oppose the government. It would be a sad day for Iran if its armed forces would become ineffective defending the country because of addiction problem, as you suggest.

Winston said...

Well, today defending Iran equals defending the criminal regime of clergy. I am not sure if the liberation day comes, the Iranian army especially the regular one stand and fight. Because like you said the regular army is of the people and for the people and the very people we're talking about will not stand and defend the mullahs against a liberating army. However, I have to say I doubt the coalition forces would attack Iran in the same manner they attacked Iraq. The rev. guards will defend the establishment but the regular army won't.