In the 1980s, Iran Outfitted F-14s as Heavy Bombers

[Mosamania]

In the 1980s, Iran Outfitted F-14s as Heavy Bombers
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One Iranian Tomcat lobbed a 7,000-pound munition
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Nearly 30 years, ago, the Iranian air force modified its U.S.-built F-14 Tomcat fighters to carry air-to-ground ordnance—including, in one spectacular case, a massive, 3.5-ton bomb.

Iran’s bitter enemy Iraq actually inspired the idea of outfitting the twin-engine, swing-wing F-14s as bombers. Iran and Iraq fought a bloody war between 1980 and 1988.

Iraq’s most notorious interceptor and recon jets were also its most prolific bombers. Baghdad’s Soviet-supplied MiG-25 Foxbats could carry free-fall bombs and still reach Mach 2.5 at 60,000 feet.

Using the advantage of speed and altitude, a MiG-25RB could release its bombs 50 kilometers from the target and accelerate to Mach 3 for the dash back to base.

The Iranians were desperate to stop the Foxbats. They prepared ambushes along probable approach routes with Chinese HQ-7 and American-made I-Hawk surface-to-air missiles. They even examined Syrian MiG-25s hoping for insight into possible defenses.

But despite all their efforts, the Iranians never could counter the Iraqi MiG-25 bombers. Iran did shoot down a few MiG-25s—but only through sheer luck.

In 1983, the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force decided that if it couldn’t stop the Foxbats, it should at least have an equivalent weapon. Iran’s F-4 Phantom fighter-bombers could carry a heavy load at high altitude, but only at reduced speed.

And the old Phantoms lacked sophisticated bomb-aiming computers, rendering long-range drops inaccurate.

Iran had acquired 79 of the powerful F-14s before the 1979 Islamic revolution that resulted in Tehran and Washington severing ties. The Tomcat has a central under-fuselage canal that reduces the drag effect from large bomb loads.

The F-14 also has a much more powerful computer than the F-4 does, meaning Tehran’s engineers could modify the Tomcats with automatic bomb-release algorithms. What the Iranian F-14s lacked was bomb racks.

The IRIAF’s self-sufficiency office claimed for years that the program to add bombs to F-14s was a fully domestic project. Now we know that’s not true. During a recent air show at 8th Air Base in Isfahan, the air force displayed an F-14 with a dozen free-fall bombs hanging in its central canal.

BRU-32 bomb racks on an Iranian F-14. Photo via the author


The bomb racks were not Iranian, but American BRU-34s and BRU-42s bearing U.S. Air Force markings.

The U.S. Air Force first used such bomb racks during mid-’80s, around the same time Iran started its Tomcat-bomber project. Because there were so few of the racks in existence, it’s highly improbable that the Iranians got them through the black market and without the knowledge of the U.S. Air Force.

At the time, Washington was trying to repair its relations with Iran through secretive arms deliveries. In an affair later dubbed “Irangate,” the U.S. delivered stockpiles of artillery shells and anti-tank weapons to Iran.

The latest information suggests that during the Irangate affair, Washington also delivered to Tehran the equipment necessary to convert F-14s to bombers. This development implies direct military contact between Iran and the U.S., through which American officials understood the immediate strategic needs of the Iranian air force.

According to official records, the first F-14 bombing run took place in 1985. The pilot was one of the IRIAF’s best—Gen. S. Rostami, the first Iranian to target a MiG-25.

To maintain project secrecy, the first flight took place from 5th Air Base, even though the Tomcats squadrons were located at the 1st, 2nd, 6th, 7th and 8th Air Bases. The target was the field headquarters of an Iraqi division near the front line.

The mission went according t0 plan, but the bombs fell wide and the target sustained only minor damage.

The next step was to develop a heavyweight bomb. The IRIAF prepared a whopping 7,000-pound munition—one of the biggest air-to-ground munitions ever deployed. This time, Gen. Abbas Babaei, the IRIAF’s commander in chief, traveled to a front-line observation post to see the effect for himself.

The F-14 pilot signaled the bomb release. The estimated time on target passed … and nothing happened. As Babaei was getting ready to return to his jeep, a powerful blast shook the ground—admittedly far from the target, but with an obvious psychological effect.

Toward the end of the war, the Iranian air force struggled to keep its fighter fleet operational. Relations with the U.S. again soured and the IRIAF couldn’t acquire spare parts. Tehran tasked its ballistic-missile forces to take over long-range ground strikes, while the F-14s returned to air-combat duties.

Three decades later, the IRIAF is again showing interest in using Tomcats as fighter-bombers. Iranian F-14s have participated in recent air-to-ground gunnery exercises and the air force command has announced the integration of new land-attack weapons on the classic fighters.

In the 1980s, Iran Outfitted F-14s as Heavy Bombers — War Is Boring — Medium

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Apparently Iran has a long history of "claiming" domestic production for many things, however the effort was admirable none the less.

 

[TankMan]

Interesting read, thanks for sharing it. Iran's effort was, like you said, admirable. This article also shows how unreliable the US is as an ally, before they were giving Iran weapons and now they are hell bent on making sure Iran doesn't develop too good weapons.

Global Politics require some level of hypocrisy but the US just takes it to a higher level.

 

[Mosamania]

Interesting read, thanks for sharing it. Iran's effort was, like you said, admirable. This article also shows how unreliable the US is as an ally, before they were giving Iran weapons and now they are hell bent on making sure Iran doesn't develop too good weapons.

Global Politics require some level of hypocrisy but the US just takes it to a higher level.

One must also remember that the Iran had a very Anti-American tone in that period as well, more than now honestly, but as you said US is an unreliable ally, something all nations have come to realise in frank as of late.

 

[Thəorətic Muslim]

At the time, Washington was trying to repair its relations with Iran through secretive arms deliveries. In an affair later dubbed “Irangate,” the U.S. delivered stockpiles of artillery shells and anti-tank weapons to Iran.
The latest information suggests that during the Irangate affair, Washington also delivered to Tehran the equipment necessary to convert F-14s to bombers. This development implies direct military contact between Iran and the U.S., through which American officials understood the immediate strategic needs of the Iranian air force.

Irangate also the Iran-Contra Affair was the Reagan Administration's attempt to secure the release of American Hostages in Lebanon. And fund the Contras in Nicaragua.

Iran was labelled a Terrorist State, and the pictures of American Diplomatic Hostages were still in the minds, and still currently are. It was too early to reopen relations.

Besides America supporting Iraq overtly, and all love was lost with any Iranian supporters. Israel did resupply Iran with America's approval.

Interesting read, thanks for sharing it. Iran's effort was, like you said, admirable. This article also shows how unreliable the US is as an ally, before they were giving Iran weapons and now they are hell bent on making sure Iran doesn't develop too good weapons.

There are things that you don't do. Rushing an Embassy and holding Diplomats hostage.

 

[Mosamania]

Irangate also the Iran-Contra Affair was the Reagan Administration's attempt to secure the release of American Hostages in Lebanon. And fund the Contras in Nicaragua.

Iran was labelled a Terrorist State, and the pictures of American Diplomatic Hostages were still in the minds, and still currently are. It was too early to reopen relations.

Besides America supporting Iraq overtly, and all love was lost with any Iranian supporters. Israel did resupply Iran with America's approval.



There are things that you don't do. Rushing an Embassy and holding Diplomats hostage.

Yes the US didn't supply any kind of armaments to the Iraqis, while the Iranians received a substantial amount. Not to mention upgrades for their existing weaponry during the war, let's not forget Israel's assistance to Israel during the war, I wanna know was there an incidence between the Iran-Iraq war and current time that soured Iranian Israeli/US relations? Or did the Iranian overtunes just emerged after the US invasion of Iraq out of nowhere?

 

[Thəorətic Muslim]

I wanna know was there an incidence between the Iran-Iraq war and current time that soured Iranian Israeli/US relations? Or did the Iranian overtunes just emerged after the US invasion of Iraq out of nowhere?

Not really. Israel was given a nod of approval from America to resupply Iran.

$ is above all.

 

[jack 86000]

bell 214
USA not at all help saddam army neither so called arab Countries
littel advise read this book: Asshole No More Xavier Crement
btw America provides satellite imagery for saddam army
Financial support
Iraq's main financial backers were the oil-rich Persian Gulf states, most notably Saudi Arabia ($30.9 billion), Kuwait ($8.2 billion), and the United Arab Emirates ($8 billion) In all, Iraq received $35 billion in loans from the West and between $30 and $40 billion from the Persian Gulf states during the 1980s
US and British Support for Hussein Regime

Picture: Donald Rumsfeld, then special US envoy, shaking hands with Saddam Hussein during a visit to Iraq in December, 1983.


US intelligence helped Saddam's Ba`ath Party seize power for the first time in 1963. Evidence suggests that Saddam was on the CIA payroll as early as 1959, when he participated in a failed assassination attempt against Iraqi strongman Abd al-Karim Qassem. In the 1980s, the US and Britain backed Saddam in the war against Iran, giving Iraq arms, money, satellite intelligence, and even chemical & bio-weapon precursors. As many as 90 US military advisors supported Iraqi forces and helped pick targets for Iraqi air and missile attacks.

read Exclusive: CIA Files Prove America Helped Saddam as He Gassed Iran
in foreignpolicy web site

 

[raptor22]

Iran was labelled a Terrorist State, and the pictures of American Diplomatic Hostages were still in the minds, and still currently are. It was too early to reopen relations.

There are things that you don't do. Rushing an Embassy and holding Diplomats hostage.

You talk as if Iranian owe you an apology, Rushing your embassy was direct result of your own government foreign policy and long time meddling and interfering in Iran internal affairs started by military coup in 1953 against democratic government of dr. Mosadeqh and supporting dictatorship in Iran since then.
You are saying that you have right to rush our entire country but we can not rush your embassy?

There are things that you don't do. Military coup and taking an entire country as your hostage.

General Robert E. Huyser

You wanted to use military force to keep Shah in the power.

 

[Penguin]

​

Iraq’s most notorious interceptor and recon jets were also its most prolific bombers. Baghdad’s Soviet-supplied MiG-25 Foxbats could carry free-fall bombs and still reach Mach 2.5 at 60,000 feet.

Using the advantage of speed and altitude, a MiG-25RB could release its bombs 50 kilometers from the target and accelerate to Mach 3 for the dash back to base.

The Iranians were desperate to stop the Foxbats. They prepared ambushes along probable approach routes with Chinese HQ-7 and American-made I-Hawk surface-to-air missiles. They even examined Syrian MiG-25s hoping for insight into possible defenses.

But despite all their efforts, the Iranians never could counter the Iraqi MiG-25 bombers. Iran did shoot down a few MiG-25s—but only through sheer luck.

The mig-25 is obviously an interceptor, not a bomber/attack plane. Nonetheless;

The aircraft could carry unguided gravity bombs in a rudimentary strike capability. As the bombs would weigh no more and incur no more drag than its regular load of R-40 missiles, its performance was not impaired, leading to some impressive bombing feats; when released at an altitude of 20,000m (66,000 ft) and a speed above Mach 2, a 500 kg bomb would have a glide range of several tens of kilometres

...
MiG-25RB
Single-seat reconnaissance-bomber derivative of MiG-25R, fitted with improved reconnaissance systems and a Peleng automatic bombing system. The aircraft can carry a bombload of eight 500 kg (1,102 lb) bombs. Entered service in 1970. NATO codename Foxbat-B

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Thəorətic Muslim]

You talk as if Iranian owe you an apology, Rushing your embassy was direct result of your own government foreign policy and long time meddling and interfering in Iran internal affairs started by military coup in 1953 against democratic government of dr. Mosadeqh and supporting dictatorship in Iran since then.
You are saying that you have right to rush our entire country but we can not rush your embassy?
There are things that you don't do. Military coup and taking an entire country as your hostage.

Why dont you read up on the following topics:

1. Two-Level Game
2. Agency vs Structure

Then we'll talk.

btw, read this post of mine.
“Argo, Fcuk Yourself” | Page 3

 

[AShkan]

The article is so inaccurate that I have to reply it during day time in a comprehensive manner!!
From the Phoenix racks to 3,500lbs-7,000lbs made bombs to the downing of the Mig-25s in "sheer luck" to having Generals in the IRIAF to multiple air bases for the F-14 to . . . . .

 

[MoshteAhani]

^^ lol yeh it was rubbish, everyone knows that the Iranian airforce owned the Iraqis... kill ratio is in favour of Iran, do a simple google search and you will see it yourself.

Also Saddam had ordered his pilots to avoid engagements with Iranian Tomcats.

Btw, during Operation Morvarid we destroyed 80% of Iraqs navy... Operation Morvarid - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Iraqi navy never recovered from this blow.. and it didnt pose any single challenge to the invading Americans in 2003 also.

 

[AShkan]

I will start with the bombing role of the F-14:
1) The main racks used for the bombing were the Phoenix racks combined with the available American adaptors in the IRIAF which wasn't the BRU-32. If I am not mistaking the BRU-32 came in to service in the late 80's early 90's.
2) Because of its sophisticated ECM it was decided to use the F-14 for special operations in which the total sorties were limited. It was also to reduce the burden off of the F-4s that were being lost in higher numbers during that era.
3) The IRIAF COULD NOT adapt any of the F-14 computer system to the bombing and the computer was altogether bypassed. The releases were done manually and one bomb at a time as they could not adapt the release of bombs in different ripples. In case of jettison, the F-14 faced danger of the bombs exploding in mid air. Therefore, all bombing runs were done visually.
3) The F-14 adapted racks could carry the Mark series bombs and the rockets available in the IRIAF arsenal.
4) The only inspiration the Iraqis offered was the continuous bombing of the cities and civilians which despite all warnings given to Iraq by Iran to stop such operations, they continued their attacks. Finally, when an all-girls school was bombed by Iraq in the city of Urumiyeh, non-military target was bombed by the F-14 deep inside Iraqi territory in retaliation. The result was the immediate halt to the bombing of the cities by Iraq.
5) The 7,000lb bomb was in fact a test run for such weapon which technically had many difficulties to build with a flawed design. The casing was thin and was not suitable for bunker busting or reinforced buildings altogether; however, it was very suitable for open areas and the psychological effect as mentioned above was damning. In order to load it, they had to use all four RACKS to support such weight. The late explosion was not due to overshooting the target but rather the usage of a delayed fuse.
6) No aircraft parts were delivered to Iran via the Iran-Contra or Iran-gate affair.

F-14 and the Mig-25 (The sheer luck effect!!)
First off, the Mig-25 is not defined as a bomber but rather an interceptor and reconnaissance plane.
Secondly, the most publicized reason for U.S. in agreeing to sell the F-14 to the Shah of Iran was the high flying Soviet Mig-25 reconnaissance planes. Although, this was not the main reason but rather the excuse for congress to approve the sell. Thirdly, after a few attempts of firing the Phoenix missile and having it explode near the fighters instead of a direct hit, the possibilities were analyzed and adjustments were made. After going through the interception procedure of the Mig-25 once again, the pilots realized that they only have a window of about 10-15 seconds to identify the Mig-25, acquire the target, lock-on to it and fire the Phoenix missile and the optimized encounter would have been a head on interception. The Mig-25 flying at Mach 2.5 and the F-14 at supersonic speed heading towards one another didn’t leave much time to complete the procedure and missile profile. After the first hunt of the Mig-25 by Shahram Rostami, another Mig-25 was locked on and chased by Ali Asghar Jahanbakhsh which resulted in the Mig-25 to divert north towards Soviet Union instead of south. Few days later it became apparent that the Mig-25 had ran out of fuel around Lake Van in Turkey and crashed. These incidents were enough to chase the Mig-25s away once the F-14s locked on to them forcing them to cancel their mission which was the primary objective of the F-14s due to shortage of the Phoenix missile.
Another Mig-25 was shot down by an F-5’s cannon, granted the Mig-25 cabin pressure system had malfunctioned and was flying lower and slower than its capability, but still cannot be attributed to “sheer luck”, perhaps the Mig-25’s bad luck!!
These are confirmed air to air kills by pilots and the IRIAF. Also, at least 2 other Mig-25s were severely damaged by the F-14's Phoenix missile; however, not taken in to account as kills. Tom Cooper fans might be interested in his statistic of 10 Mig-25s being hunted by the F-14; although, many of his claims are not confirmed by the pilots and IRIAF.

Other issues:
The Tomcats were never stationed in all these TABs as they or any fighter requires its specific technical personnel, training, equipment, etc. Granted several specific operations were done out of other TABs but no squadron was assigned to the TABs other than its designated ones; Esfahan, Shiraz and later Bushehr.
Babaii was a Colonel when he was killed by friendly fire and during the war the highest rank was Colonel. In order to support the families of the deceased the IRIAF promoted their dead according to the standard promotion time table to increase the pension to the surviving family. That is why one may find many Iranian Generals and Admirals KIA in the Iranian Armed Forces during the Iran-Iraq war!!!

 

[C130]

One must also remember that the Iran had a very Anti-American tone in that period as well, more than now honestly, but as you said US is an unreliable ally, something all nations have come to realise in frank as of late.

unreliable ally if you say so

 

[AShkan]

Actually, when it comes to allies, U.S. has screwed Iran much less than Russia and China currently as Iran's allies!!

"Mosamania said: ↑
One must also remember that the Iran had a very Anti-American tone in that period as well, more than now honestly, but as you said US is an unreliable ally, something all nations have come to realise in frank as of late."

Mosamania, can you give me an example of US being an unreliable ally?
Tks