Following the expiry of a UN arms embargo on Iran in October 2020, the country has been
expected to begin purchasing modern fighter aircraft from foreign sources to improve it
air force’s combat fleet. The result of the embargo, which lasted well over a decade,
and of Western pressure on post-Soviet Russia before then to deny Iran access to modern
combat aircraft, has been an Iranian Air Force that remains overwhelmingly reliant on obsolete
third generation aircraft acquired in the 1970s from the United States. A small number
of fourth generation fighters in service including two indigenously upgraded American F-14A fighter
squadrons, and two MiG-29A and one Su-24 squadrons acquire from the Soviet Union in the three
years before its collapse, these are all very early fourth generation designs which make
up a small portion of the Iranian fleet. Although Iran’s defence sector has become relatively
self reliant, and has been able to acquire most of what it does not produce itself from
North Korea which ignored the arms embargo, its inability to acquire modern fighter aircraft
has been a notable weakness.
While both China and Russia are today willing to supply Iran with fighter aircraft, the
Middle Eastern state has notably struggled to afford the acquisition of modern fighter
aircraft from either country. A number of unverified reports from mid-April 2021 indicated
that while Iran had shown an interest in acquiring J-10C ‘4++ generation’ fighter jets from
China - a sophisticated design which due to its light weight and large scale of production
has been offered at a relatively low cost - the country struggled to afford the Chinese
fighters even in limited numbers. With the J-10C unaffordable, the possibility of acquiring
heavier aircraft such as the Russian Su-30SM or Su-57, which the Iranian Military had reportedly
also shown an interest in, was negligible in the near term. While Iran could potentially
neglect to invest in new fighters - relying on sophisticated ground based air defences
to guard its airspace and on drones and cruise missiles to project power - it could potentially
seek to acquire older and cheaper fighter models from China or Russia to modernise its
fleet. Although such aircraft are no longer in production, they are potentially available
for purchase from active or reserve units or from storage, and can potentially be refurbished
to meet Iranian requirements. These early fourth generation aircraft would still represent
a very major capability upgrade over Iran’s existing fleet of third generation aircraft
such as the Vietnam War-era F-4E, F-5E and J-7. A look at five early fourth generation
aircraft which could be acquired second hand from China or Russia at a more modest cost
is given below.
the JH-7 is a dedicated strike fighter which is compatible with a wide range of standoff
anti ship and air to ground munition types. Approximately 260 of the strike fighters are
in service, and although no longer in production they have been offered for export in the past.
With a fifth generation replacement under development, China may well be willing to
retire a portion of its JH-7 fleet and sell the aircraft on to Iran - with the fighters
potentially being replaced by newer J-16s. Since their introduction in 1992, JH-7s have
been upgraded to the JH-7A standard and have integrated new features including helmet mounted
sights, liquid crystal multi function displays, the BM/KJ-8605 nose jammer, the Type 271 radar
altimeter and the JL-10A pulse doppler radar. The strike fighters can utilise both satellite
and laser guided precision air to surface munitions, and will be Iran’s most capable
strike aircraft if acquired - providing a significant improvement over the F-4E Phantoms
which they would be likely to replace.
Iran was one of several clients for the MiG-29 in the late 1980s, and currently operates
two squadrons of MiG-29A jets. Russia was forced to retire hundreds of MiG-29s after
its economy contracted sharply in the 1990s, and while it produces modernised MiG-29 airframes
for export as the MiG-29M - which Egypt and Algeria both purchased - it also offers the
original MiG-29A airframes of the Soviet era for foreign clients. These have been widely
exported, most recently to Syria and India with the old airframes upgraded with modern
avionics, new engines and larger fuel tanks as the MiG-29SMT and MiG-29UPG respectively.
These are the cheapest Russian fourth generation fighters offered for export, and could potentially
be acquired in large number by the Iranian Air Force for a modest price.
Russia retains a force of several hundred Su-24M heavyweight dedicated strike fighters
in reserve, which other than heavy bombers are the heaviest combat jets the country has
ever exported. A significant number were placed in storage after the collapse of the USSR,
and dozens more have been retired as the more modern Su-34 strike fighters have replaced
them since 2014. Iran operates a single Su-24M squadron, although the Soviet era jets acquired
before the collapse of the USSR are much less capable than the enhanced variants currently
in Russian service. Although Russia currently offers the Su-34 for export, with Algeria
reportedly showing a strong interest in the design, it has offered Su-24s from its reserve
units as a cheaper alternative. The Libyan National Army acquired an estimated twelve
of the jets in 2020. The Su-24 provides a strike range across the Middle East, and enhanced
variant of the jets may well be considered the most capable strike fighters in the region
if acquired.
The MiG-31 Foxhound is the heaviest combat jet in service anywhere in the world that
was designed for air to air combat, and enhanced variants in the Russian Air Force today are
considered its most dangerous air superiority aircraft. The heavy interceptors deploy massive
Zaslon-M phased array radars providing one of the highest levels of situational awareness
in the world, as well as R-37 air to air missiles with an impressive 400km range, hypersonic
speed and massive 60kg warhead. Over 100 of the airframes are currently in storage, with
much of the fleet retired following the collapse of the Soviet Union, although some are thought
to have been brought out of storage and modernised in the latter half of the 2020s. Iran reportedly
showed an interest in the MiG-31 in the 1990s, but was unable to acquire them due to Western
pressure on Moscow.