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Old 10-02-2019, 09:33 AM
RN7 RN7 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rcaf_777 View Post
Except according the September 2018 issue of Air International pages 58–59
the number of combat ready Tomcats in Iran was still low (seven in 2008) and the Washington Post reported on 26 January 2012 that Iranian F-14 fighter jet had crashed in country's south, and both pilot and co-pilot killed. So I would call the use of F-14 by Iran questionable

In July 2007, the remaining American F-14s were shredded to ensure that any parts could not be acquired by Iran
As of 2018 the Iranian Air Force had 43 F-14's in service, and possibly more.

After the Iranian Revolution Iran’s ability to acquire parts for the F-14 was limited. While Iran developed the manufacturing facilities to service the simpler F-5E and kept the F-4E Phantom flying through a combination of reverse engineering and acquiring parts on the black market, this was not an option for the more complex F-14. A severe shortage in AIM-54missiles after the Iran-Iraq War further limited the F-14's usefulness in Iranian hands, and only a fraction of the fleet remained operational for several decades.

However new technologies including 3D printing has allowed Iran to more effectively reverse engineer parts the F-14 and AIM-54 missile. Most of Iran's F-14's having seen well under a decade of service, some under five years, before a lack of parts placed them in storage, these airframes are essentially brand new and with the supply of new parts can be fielded in considerable numbers. Iran's F-14 fleet has reportedly received over 250 modifications and upgrades, including new radars, cockpit displays, electronic warfare suites and other avionics. When the almost new airframes are properly modernised, likely with Russian or Chinese assistance the result will most likely be the most capable fighter in the Middle East.

Also the Iranian Fakour-90 AAM bears a strong resemblance to the AIM-54 Phoenix.

In the late 1980's Iran allegedly sent the AIM-54 and an entire F-14 fighter to the Soviet Union for study in exchange for assistance in developing such a missile. The Soviets operated the similar R-33 AAM missile with an original range of 120km. This was gradually enhanced to a 300km range and the Soviets/Russians were well placed to aid Iran in developing an indigenous variant of the AIM-54 as relations between the two countries improved and a strong defence partnership developed from the late 1980s.

The Fakour-90 not only matches the capabilities of the AIM-54 but improves on them. Iran puts its range at 300km with Western sources estimating a range of around 220km, compared to the original AIM-54's 180km range. The Fakour-90 also retains a guidance system capable of providing a radar lock independently of the launch aircraft’s own radar. This capability is lacked by modern Western combat aircraft and most Russian ones, which makes Iranian F-14's potentially highly lethal in BVR. Travelling at over Mach 5 and striking with the same degree of precision if not higher than the AIM-54 did, the missile can target enemy fighters well beyond their retaliation range. The Fakour-90 has at least three times the range of American AIM-120B which have a range of 75km, and at least twice the range of the more advanced AIM-120C. The Fakour-90 is also likely to have inherited the Phoenix's hypersonic speed, making it faster and longer ranged than the AIM-120 deployed by Saudi and Israeli F-15s. In the event of a regional war with Saudi Arabia the Iranian F-14's can potentially shoot down Saudi fighters without leaving Iranian airspace, and if the Iranian F-14's cross the Iraqi border they can even target aircraft over Israel.
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