The commander of the Iranian Army Aviation says his unit possesses
the most powerful helicopter fleet in the West Asia region.
Brigadier General Yousef Ghorbani made the comment at a ceremony commemorating
the martyrdom anniversary of distinguished Iranian pilot Ali Akbar Shiroodi during the
Iraq-Iran war in the 1980s in the western province of Kermanshah.
He said sustainable security across the country and along its borders has
been achieved thanks to the sacrifices of martyr Shiroodi and other martyrs.
The memory of such martyrs should be kept alive, he said, adding that the people and
the youths should know how the enemy’s tanks were targeted and destroyed by Martyr Shiroodi.
“Today, if the aviation unit is the most powerful helicopter fleet in West Asia,
[and] the Islamic Republic of Iran is powerful in the world, [and] causes
jitters among the Zionists, it is by virtue of the blood of the martyrs,” Ghorbani said.
“The aviation unit stands with all its strength when the country faces defense issues,
and in times of peace, it stands by the people in disasters and dangers,” he added.
The top commander further said Iran is currently in a position to disrupt the
military equations of the so-called superpowers, adding that the enemy is
plotting to destroy the Islamic establishment at any moment, but all their plots are foiled
with a speech by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
Touching upon the cutting-edge technology of the aviation unit’s helicopter fleet,
Ghorbani said some of the equipment of the world’s most advanced choppers have
been mounted on Iranian helicopters, such as domestically-manufactured night vision systems.
Iranian military experts and engineers have in recent years made remarkable
breakthroughs in manufacturing a broad range of indigenous equipment,
making the armed forces self-sufficient.
Iranian officials have made clear that the country will not hesitate to strengthen its
military capabilities, including its missile power, which are entirely meant for defense,
and that Iran’s defense capabilities will be never open for negotiations.
The Iranian attack helicopter fleet is currently comprised of approximately
50 AH-1J aircraft acquired from the United States in the 1970s.
Iran has made significant acquisitions of Soviet helicopters in the past,
albeit all of them transports namely the very large Mi-171 - of which approximately
20 serve in the Army and a further 5 in the Revolutionary Guard Corps.
These are the country’s most modern rotary wing aircraft,
with the remainder being older American Vietnam War era designs such as Chinooks.
Russia is currently offering three attack helicopter classes for export, any one of which
would represent a very major improvement over the classes Iran currently fields.
These include the Mi-28 and Ka-52, which were developed in parallel by rival design bureaus,
and the older Mi-24 which entered service in 1972
but is available in several heavily modernised variants.
Iranian forces notably have experience operating alongside Russian attack helicopters,
having done so in Syrian counterinsurgency operations where the Russian Military
deployed all three classes, while the Syrian Arab Army deployed the Mi-24.
Iraq is also one of three foreign operators of the Mi-28,
and Iranian forces were closely integrated with multiple Iraqi militias that worked
closely with government forces in counterinsurgency operations there.
Overseas operations by Iranian forces also provided Russian forces with experience
operating alongside Iranian drones, which provided extensive air support,
culminating in Russian acquisitions of such drones for its military campaign in Ukraine today.
The Mi-28 and Ka-52 represent a new generation of attack helicopters significantly more modern
than any comparable aircraft in NATO service, with the American Apache widely used in West
and by Western-aligned states coming from the same older generation as the Mi-24.
Of the two newer helicopters the Mi-28 appears to be the more likely choice,
with the Ka-52 being a more costly aircraft better optimised to maritime strike roles
and highly prized for its very unique cruise missile strike capabilities.
With an unrivalled flight performance, the Mi-28,
can carry up to 16 anti tank missiles or 80 80mm unguided rockets, with the latest Mi-28NM
variant having been employed in Syria and more recently on tank hunting missions in Ukraine.
The variant integrates new VK-2500P engines providing a 13% increase in
speed, and benefits from all-round visibility provided by new sensors,
and an upgraded fire control system among other notable enhancements.
The aircraft can also carry R-74 infrared guided air to air missiles, which combined with their
high manoeuvrability makes them potentially very capable in visual range air to air combat.