 Air Force
OVERVIEW
The Iranian air force is organized as follows:
Western Area Command, with
7 fighter squadrons
6 fighter/ground attack squadrons
5 transport squadrons
3 reconnaissance squadrons
2 training squadrons
1 support squadron
1 VIP squadron
1 ASW squadron
Southern Area Command, with
4 fighter/ground attack squadrons
Eastern Area Command, with
1 fighter/ground attack squadron
3 training squadrons
PERSONNEL STRENGTH
The air force has some 30,000 personnel, including a 12,000-man Air defense force.
Equipment
(For additional information on the equipment listed below, search our Weapons Database. Equipment is of U.S. origin unless otherwise noted.)
AUG06 OCT07 FEB09 AUG10 AIRCRAFT
Fighters/Ground Attack
65 65 64 64 F-4D/-E Phantom attack (one crashed Nov. 2007)
60+ 59 60+ 40 F-5E Tiger II fighter
# Azarakhsh (Iranian derivative of F-5)
# # # Saegheh (Iranian derivative of F-5)
25 25 25 25 F-14A Tomcat fighter
24 24 24 24 Shenyang F-7M Airguard attack/training
(Chinese J-7)
25 25 25 40 MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter (Russia)
30 30 30 28 Su-24MK Fencer (Russia)
7 10 13 13 Su-25 Frogfoot attack (Russia)
24 24 24 4 Mirage F-1E (France)
Reconnaissance
6 6 6+ 6+ RF-4E Phantom tactical
1 N/A # 0 Il-76 Adnan AEW (Russia)(crashed Sept. 2009)
5 5 5 P-3 Orion maritime patrol
Transports
3 3 3 3 B707-3J9C tanker
1 B747 (Boeing 747)
4 4 4 4 B747F-131/-2J9F (Boeing 747)
1 1 1 1 B727-81 VIP transport (Boeing 727)
17 17 17 19 C-130E/-H Hercules
10 10 10 10 F27 Mk 400M Troopship/600 Friendship
(Netherlands)
3 3 3 3 Turbo Commander 681B liaison
2 2 2 1 Jetstar II VIP transport
1 1 1 1 Falcon 20F VIP transport (France)
1+ 1 1 12 Il-76MD Candid (Russia)
12 # # 23 Xi'an Y7/Y7H/Y12 (China)
10 10 10 10 PC-6B (Switzerland)
40 40 45 An-140 (Russia)(Iran 140 Faraz)
11 An-72
Trainers
20 20 20 20 F-5B Tiger II
20 20 20 25 F-33A/C Bonanza
7 7 7 9 T-33A Shooting Star
15 # # # MiG-29UB Fulcrum (Russia)
15 15 15 23 EMB312 Tucano (Brazil)
40 40 40 45 PC7 Turbo Trainer (Switzerland)
22 22 22 25 MFI-17 Mushshak (Pakistan)
4 4 4 4 Socata TB200 Tobago XL (France)
8 8 8 8 Socata TB21 Trinidad TC (France)
15 15 15 15 JJ-7 Mongol A
12 Paratsu
15 PC-6
Helicopters
2 2 2 2 AB206A JetRanger utility (OH-58A Kiowa)
30 30 30 30 AB214B/C Super Transporter SAR
2 2 2 2 CH-47
# # # # Shabaviz 2-75 (Iran)
# # # # Shabaviz 2061 (Iran)
# # Mi-8/17 transport (Russia)
MISSILES
Surface-to-Air
150 150 150+ 150+ MIM-23 HAWK (U.S.)
15 15 15 15 Tigercat (U.K.)(many non-operational)
45 45 45 45 HQ-2J (Red Flag 2) launchers (Chinese SA-2)
30 30 30 30 Towed Rapier launchers (w/Blindfire radar)
(U.K.)
10 10 10 10 SA-5 Gammon (Russian S-200 Angara)
# N/A N/A N/A SA-6 Gainful (Russian 2K12 Kub)
# # # SA-7 Grail (Russian 9K32 Strela 2/M)
# N/A N/A N/A SA-10 Grumble (Russian S-300P)
# N/A N/A N/A SA-11 Gadfly (Russian 9K37 Buk 1M)
# 29 29 29 SA-15 Gauntlet (launchers)(Russian Tor M1)
# 250 # # CPMIEC FM-80 launchers (Chinese)
# N/A N/A N/A Bofors RBS 70 low-altitude SAM (Sweden)
# N/A N/A N/A Hongqi-2/2B (CSA-1) launchers w/ 45+
missiles (Chinese)
# Shahin (Iran)
Air-to-Air
2,400 N/A N/A N/A MIM-23 HAWK (modified for air-to-air role)
# # # # AIM-7 Sparrow
# # # # AIM-9 Sidewinder
# # # # AIM-54 Phoenix
# # # # AA-8 Aphid (Russian K-60)
# # # # AA-10 Alamo (Russian R-27)
# # # # AA-11 Archer (Russian R-73)
# # # # PL-2 (China)
# # # # PL-7 (China)
Air-to-Surface
# # # # AS-10 Karen (Russian Kh-25)
# # # # AS-11 Kilter (Russian Kh-58)
# # # # AS-14 Kedge (Russian Kh-29)
3,000 # # # AGM-65A Maverick (U.S.)
# # # CSS-N-4 Sardine (China)
ARTILLERY
Anti-Aircraft
# N/A N/A N/A 57-mm SZ-60 towed (Hungary)
# N/A N/A N/A 40-mm M1 towed (U.S.)
# N/A N/A N/A 40-mm L/70 towed (Sweden)
# # # 37-mm Oerlikon
# # # # 23-mm ZSU-23 twin towed (Russia)
*Editor's Note: Much of Iran's Western-supplied aircraft inventory is in a state of disrepair, due to the inability to secure parts as well as undertake necessary upgrades. Iran's F-4, F-5 and F-14 aircraft suffer from wear, and the avionics are largely obsolete. Iran also lacks advanced air force capabilities such as beyond-visual range air-to-air combat and airborne sensors.
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