I found these cool pictures on a foreign blogging site. Apparently the Iranians are escorting the Russian Su-27s across their airspace. I never knew Iranians have these surplus Vietnamish era U.S. fighters in the their AF. Hell I didn't even know they had an air force.
Yes, they do. They're like a 1980s USAF. Amazing what you find with a little research.
Fighters from the 70's. Outdated, however cool they are, are no competition for even our most outdated fighter.
Sweet shots, I am pretty sure Iraq had the same kind of thing when we went in during the first gulf war. Look how far it got them.
While true, it would depend too on tactics, and what/how they decide to utilize their force. Remember, Iran has been watching both Gulf Wars, '91 and '03, and have applied lessons learned from Iraq's failures. That doesn't necessarily mean they'd be completely successful, but it does show original thinking outside the box, rather than just blindly following outdated doctrine.
Makes one wonder how much the Soviets knew about the Tomcat from a very early date. We sold them to the IIAF with AWG-9's and AIM-54A's, flight training and (at least some) tactics included. Granted the F-14D was a different aircraft with a different radar and AIM-54C, but I'm sure there was some valuable intel to be gained there. Not only that, but we flew F-4's in frontline service for much of the 70's and early 80's, which the Iranians must have also compromised in some manner. Then again, there were probably more than enough of those balled up across the countryside of Vietnam for the Soviets to thoroughly inspect as early as the late 1960's.
The Iranians also reverse-engineer things they need. They build their own Huey and Cobra helicopters still, from the large Bell helicopter plant in Isfahan that was there prior to the fall of the Shah. With F-4s, the Israelis even sold them F-4 parts and equipment during the Iran/Contra affair under Reagan in the 1980s. So they know the bird well. F-14s too, same thing.
Just take one look at what happened during GW1, and tell me that Iran can shake a stick at what we have now.
Again, different doctrine. Iraq's Air Force was very much the Soviet model.....strict thinking, tight tactics, etc. Iran is the USAF model, just as we trained them and just as they've handed it down to their follow-on peeps: flexibility, tactical thinking, etc. They used much of this during hte Iran/Iraq war in the 1980s in tactical employment, search and rescue techniques, anti-SAM tactics.....all of which mirrored or copied USAF tactics from the 1970s/80s. So I wouldn't totally poo-poo them. Like anywhere, you'll have good ones as well as bad. Qutch has experience with many of the initial training and dealing with many of these guys; however I do think amongst their own where they're probably more comfortable, they have developed more.
Even in the vid below, you'll notice that they don't have the whole Islamic thing going like the Arabs do; in fact, they could easily be USAF pilots of the early '80s in dress, appearance, and demeanor. Base looks like a USAF base, flight equipment is the same, airfield layout and look the same, etc.
