List of aircraft of the Iranian Air Force

This is a list of aircraft types operated by the Iranian Air Force , not including those operated by the Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. This list includes aircraft operated by Imperial Iranian Army Aviation prior to the foundation of the Air Force as a separate service in August 1955.

In 2007, Iraq asked Iran to return some of the scores of Iraqi fighter planes that flew there ahead of the Persian Gulf War in 1991. ^[1] In late 2014, Iran returned some of the impounded Iraqi military aircraft to Iraq. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

Combat/Fighter Aircraft

Air superiority fighters

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Versions	Number	Years	Notes
Mikoyan MiG-29	Russia	Multirole-fighter Trainer	MiG-29 (9.12B) MiG-29UB	30	1991	24 MiG-29s were delivered in 1990. Iran also took several ex-Iraqi MiG-29 aircraft flown over in 1991, including one MiG-29UB. The current number of MiG-29 in active service is unknown. According to Russian media up to 30 MiG-29s have been overhauled, 24 MiG-29 product 9.12B and 6 MiG-29UB 9.51, and can now be armed with Nasr-1 anti-ship missiles. [5] [6] [7] In 2018, a MiG-29 crashed and was destroyed due to a technical fault.[ citation needed ]
Grumman F-14 Tomcat	US	Interceptor	F-14A	35	1974–present	80 examples ordered, 79 were originally delivered. The only plane to use the Phoenix missile. 40 in inventory. [6] In 2018, Iran had about 40 F-14s remaining, with two of them upgraded to F-14AM. [8] On 16 June 2025, the Israel Defense Forces released video footage showing a pair of F-14s were destroyed in air strikes against Iran [9] On 21 June 2025, the Israel Defense Forces released more video footage showing the destruction of three more F-14s. [10]

Supplementary fighters

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Versions	Number	Years	Notes
HESA Saeqeh	Iran	Light fighter	Saegheh-1/2	12 [11]	2006–present	Is claimed to be heavily upgraded and indigenously made
HESA Kowsar	Iran	Fighter aircraft		4 [11] [12]	2018–present	A redesigned F-5. Western analysts have described the plane as inefficient as a weapon, but having potential for training a new generation of Iranian fighter pilots. According to the Iranian state-media, this fighter jet has "advanced avionics" and multipurpose radar, and it was "100-percent indigenously made". It uses digital data networks, a glass cockpit, heads-up display (HUD), ballistic computers and smart mobile mapping systems.
HESA Azarakhsh	Iran	Light fighter	First Generation (includes twin-seat version)	4	2015	Rebuilt F-5E.
Chengdu J-7	China	Fighter aircraft	N/MB	24	1991–present
Mirage F1	France	Multi-role fighter	F1EQ/F1BQ	23	1991–present	Iran received 24 F1BQs and F1EQs flown over from Iraq, during the 1991 Persian Gulf War. One Mirage F1BQ from Mashhad AFB (TFB.14) was shot down in July 2001 by the Taliban with Sa-16/18 Manpad while involved in countering drug-smuggling at the Afghan border.
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II	US	Fighter-Bomber	F-4D/E RF-4E	63	1968–present	225 ordered and delivered. In 2014, 60 F-4D/E and 4 RF-4Es remained. [6] 10 are F-4Ds and 50 are F-4Es. [13] F-4Ds/Es are currently undergoing an upgrade program which includes a new Chinese-built radar and other avionics and weapons, namely PL-5E, PL-11 and C-801. In October 2013, the anti-ship Qader cruise missile was successfully tested on an F-4. [6] [7] 1 was lost in January 2025. [14]
Northrop F-5 Tiger II	US	Light fighter	F-5E F-5F	60 [6]	1974–present	181 ordered and delivered. In 2014, 60 F-5s remained. [6] This included about 16 F-5F dual seat trainers and 44 F-5E fighter bomber. [13]

Ground attack

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Versions	Number	Years	Notes
Sukhoi Su-24	Russia	Strike/air-to-air refuelling "buddy" tanker	Su-24MK	32	1991	12 aircraft supplied by Russia in 1991.[ citation needed ] 24 Iraqi craft were evacuated to Iran during the 1991 Gulf War and were put in service with the IRIAF. 3 of them crashed and was destroyed due to a technical fault. 30 Su-24MKs in service as of January 2013. [15] [6] Iran tested domestically produced, anti-radar smart missiles carried by Su-24 aircraft in September 2011. [16]
Sukhoi Su-22	Russia	Fighter-Bomber	Su-22M3/M4	20	1991–present	The Iranian Air Force received 40 Su-20/22s from Iraq in 1991. [17] While non-operational for several years, in 2013 Iran started overhauling them. [18] In March 2015, 10 of the Iranian Air Force Su-22 were transferred to the Syrian Arab Air Force to fight in the Civil War. [19] In July 2018, Iranian military technical experts successfully overhauled and modernized 10 Su-22s, giving them the ability to carry smart bombs, fire precision-guided munitions, transfer data from UAVs and in the near future the necessary systems to use air-launched cruise missiles with a range of 1,500 km. The overhauled planes are being used by IRGC's Air Force. [20] [21]

Reconnaissance, patrol, and EW

Maritime Patrol

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Versions	Number	Years	Notes
Lockheed P-3 Orion	US	maritime patrol	P-3F	3	1974–present	3 in service

Transport/AWACS/Maritime patrol

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Versions	Number	Years	Notes
HESA IrAn-140	Iran	Transport/AWACS/Maritime patrol		7[ citation needed ]		In 2015, the project appeared to have been stalled or cancelled. [22]
Ilyushin Il-76	Soviet Union	Transport/AWACS	IL-76MD Adnan	1[ citation needed ]	1991–Present	One AWACS-converted Il-76 crashed in 2009. [23]

Transport and utility

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Versions	Number	Years	Notes
Antonov An-74	Ukraine	utility transport		12		All assigned to the IRGCAF, not the IRIAF.
Ilyushin Il-76	Russia	tactical airlift/transport		12 [6]
Dassault Falcon 20	France	VIP transport		3
Dassault Falcon 50	France	VIP transport		1
Fokker F27 Friendship	Netherlands	tactical airlift/transport and target towing	F27-400M F27-600	12	1972–present
Pilatus PC-6 Porter	Switzerland	utility transport		15
Boeing 707	US	VIP transport transport air-to-air refuelling tanker	707-368C 707-3J9C	1 2	1974–present	1 tanker, 2 transports. [6]
Boeing 747	US	VIP transport/freighter	747-100 747-100F 747-200F	6		2 tanker, 4 transports. One is used for electronic warfare. [6]
Lockheed C-130 Hercules	US	tactical airlift/transport	C-130E C-130H	27 [6]		Nine visible on Google Maps at Mehrabad Air Base with underwing stores. Some do not appear to have all four engines installed.
Lockheed JetStar	US	VIP transport	JetStar 8	2		1 operational in 2008

Trainers

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Versions	Number[ citation needed ]	Years	Notes
Yak-130	Russia	trainer/CAS		2+	2023	The first batch of the Yak-130 trainers was delivered in September 2023. [24] [25] [26]
Fajr F.3	Iran	trainer	F.3	2
HESA Dorna	Iran	Trainer		1	2016	Prototype
IRIAF Parastu-14	Iran	trainer		12		12 in 2005. [6]
HESA Yasin	Iran	Advanced Trainer		1+		The HESA Yasin, formerly known as Kowsar 88, is a light aircraft and advance training aircraft designed and manufactured by Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Company, at the request of the Air Force of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Yassin uses two 7,000-pound turbojet engines and is on par with the Russian MiG-AT jet. 1 crashed in 2024. [27]
HESA Simorgh / Northrop F-5B	Iran	Advanced Trainer		9		F-5As converted domestically to F-5B standard.
Chengdu FT-7	China	Advanced Trainer	FT-7	14		Dual-seat J-7 conversion trainer. In 2014, it was reported that 5 were in service. [6] Scramble notes 14 active. [28]
TB-21 Tobago / TB-200 Trinidad	France	trainer		12		12 trainers in service. [6]
PAC MFI-17 Mushshak	Pakistan	trainer		25		25 trainers in service. [6]
Pilatus PC-7 Turbo Trainer	Switzerland	trainer		45
Beechcraft Bonanza	US	trainer	F33	28

Helicopters

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Variant	Number[ citation needed ]	Years	Notes
Agusta Bell 206	Italy	Light utility/trainer	AB 206	20		Licence-built in Italy.
Agusta-Bell 212	Italy	Utility	AB-212	1		Licence-built in Italy. 1 lost in May 2024. [29]
Boeing CH-47 Chinook	US	Heavy-lift transport	CH-47C	20-30

Other types

These types were also purchased by the Iranian government

• One Aero A.30 from Czechoslovakia in 1923
• One De Havilland DHC-4 Caribou in 1979

A number of other types have been in recent, or reported to be in, Iranian service. Many remain in reserve storage or are operated by the Army or Navy. Some recent types include:

• Shabaviz 2-75, Iranian origin, operated by the Army
• HESA Shahed 278
• Shahed 285, 40+ operated by Iranian forces
• IAIO Toufan, 40+ operated by IRIAA
• Mikoyan MiG-23, formerly IQAF
• Mi-17, 47 operated by the Iranian air force
• Shenyang J-6
• Boeing 727, Cargo/transport
• Hughes 300C

Iran has a number of UAVs and UCAVs, under operation of the Iranian Army Aviation.

See also

• Iran portal

• Aircraft of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard
• Equipment of the Iranian Air Defense Force

References

1. Colvin, Ross (9 August 2007). "Iraq air force wants Iran to give back its planes". Reuters . Archived from the original on 2017-10-11. Retrieved 2017-12-16.
2. "Iran returns military aircraft to Iraq after 20 years". 23 June 2014. Archived from the original on 24 August 2017. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
3. "With new US planes slow to arrive, Iraq seeks remnants of Saddam's air force to bomb ISIL". 28 June 2014. Archived from the original on 2017-08-24. Retrieved 2017-08-23.
4. "Iraq cobbling together makeshift air force to fight ISIS". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2017-09-01. Retrieved 2017-08-23.
5. "Iranian Air Force receives overhauled MiG-29 fighter jet and new Nasr missiles - News - Russian Aviation - RUAVIATION.COM". www.ruaviation.com.
6. "Iran Air Force". globalsecurity.org. Archived from the original on 30 October 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
7. Taghvaee, Babak (June 2012). "Guardians of Tehran: Iranian Fulcrums". Combat Aircraft Monthly. pp. 70–73.
8. "Analysis: Fakour Air-to-Air Missile". Archived from the original on 2018-07-27. Retrieved 2018-07-28.
9. "Iranian F-14 'Persian Tomcats' Obliterated in Israeli Airstrike".
10. "IDF spokesman says three Iranian F-14 fighter jets destroyed in latest strikes". The Times of Israel .
11. "ویژگیهای مهم اولین جنگنده کاملا ایرانی +عکس". jamejamonline.ir (in Persian). October 10, 2020. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
12. "هواپیمای ترابری نظامی ایران 140 امسال رونمایی می‌شود/تحویل 3 فروند جنگنده کوثر به نیروی هوایی ارتش/ سبد محصولات پهپادی ما کامل شده است- اخبار خواندنی - اخبار رسانه ها تسنیم | Tasnim". خبرگزاری تسنیم | Tasnim (in Persian). Retrieved 2022-10-14.
13. "Scramble". www.scramble.nl. Archived from the original on 2017-08-25. Retrieved 2017-08-25.
14. Ranter, Harro. "Accident McDonnell Douglas RF-4E-62-MC Phantom II 2-6510, Wednesday 22 January 2025". asn.flightsafety.org. Retrieved 2025-01-26.
15. "World Military Aircraft Inventory". Aviation Week and Space Technology. January 2013.
16. "Su-24 front-line bomber". airforceworld.com. September 2011. Archived from the original on 14 October 2011. Retrieved 5 Oct 2011.
17. "01IRIAF Su 22 Fitter1 :: Mycity-Military.com". www.mycity-military.com. Archived from the original on 2018-07-29. Retrieved 2018-07-29.
18. Boring, War Is (2013-12-18). "This Is How Iran Maintains Its Bizarre Air Force". War Is Boring. Archived from the original on 2017-09-13. Retrieved 2017-07-19.
19. "Warplanes: Iran Gives Syria Ten Iraqi Su-22s". www.strategypage.com. Archived from the original on 2018-02-04. Retrieved 2017-07-19.
20. "IRGC overhauls, upgrades 10 Sukhoi SU-22 fighter jets". 25 July 2018. Archived from the original on 26 July 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
21. "Iran Upgrades 10 Su-22 Fighter Jets Domestically". www.defenseworld.net. Archived from the original on 2018-07-27. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
22. "Iran rejects manufacturing Iran-140 passenger plane". 19 May 2015. Archived from the original on 12 August 2017. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
23. Morgan, David (2011-06-04). "Video of 2009 Iranian jet crash surfaces - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
24. "جنگنده آموزشی یاک 130 به ایران آمد- اخبار نظامی | دفاعی | امنیتی - اخبار سیاسی تسنیم | Tasnim". خبرگزاری تسنیم | Tasnim (in Persian). Retrieved 2023-09-02.
25. "Russian-made combat trainer aircraft joins Iran's Air Force". AP News. 2023-09-02. Retrieved 2024-10-02.
26. Cenciotti, David (2023-09-02). "Iran's Air Force Receives First Russian Yak-130 Advanced Jet Trainer Aircraft". The Aviationist. Retrieved 2024-10-02.
27. "Accident HESA Yasin , Wednesday 4 December 2024". asn.flightsafety.org. Retrieved 2024-12-06.
28. "Military Database - Scramble". www.scramble.nl.
29. "The death of Iran's president will spark a high-stakes power struggle". The Economist. ISSN   0013-0613 . Retrieved 2024-05-20.

Further reading

• Andrade, John (1982). Militair 1982. London: Aviation Press Limited. ISBN   0-907898-01-7.