The U.S. Navy retired the legendary F-14 in September 2006. Nowadays, the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) remains the world’s only operator of the Tomcat, a type of interceptor that Tehran has been able to kept airworthy and somehow enhance with some domestic avionics upgrades and weapons throughout the years in spite of the embargo imposed after the 1979 Revolution.
The Persian Tomcats, that the IRIAF plans to fly until 2030, are based at TFB.8 (Tactical Fighter Base 8) Baba’i near Eshahan, in central Iran.
“TFB.8 has three F-14 Squadrons with total 62 F-14As but only almost half are airworthy at this moment; just 35 according to the 2013 records” says Iranian Defense Journalist and writer Babak Taghvaee.
https://theaviationist.com/2016/10/21/top-gun-reloaded-f-14-tomcats-take-off-for-night-missions-few-days-ago-in-iran/
No comments:
Post a Comment