Dassault Mirage F.1EQ in service with the IRIAF
Reports from August 2001 about the crash of a Mirage fighter aircraft near Mashhad, in north-eastern Iran, revealed another interesting detail about the ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN AIR FORCE (IRIAF), an air force which - despite being isolated from standard sources of spares and maintenance support for its aircraft (most of which are still of Western origins) since 20 years, despite working under constant heavy pressure and mistrust from the clerical regime, and despite suffering considerable losses during the long war with Iraq - remained operational and effective, and, which during the last years managed to rebuilt its strength. Tom Cooper explains the background.
Iranian Mirages
Iran is a major route along which drugs originating from Afghanistan and Pakistan are smuggled towards the Europe; huge amounts of heroin, opium, hashish, and morphine are transported each year. Already since 1980 the Iranian authorities have initiated intensive campaigns against - foremost Afghan, but also Pakistani and Iranian - drug smugglers. Tehran is spending some $20 million annually for fighting drug trafficking, and, according to official reports, so far over 3,100 members of Iranian security forces have been killed in drugs-related engagements.
In the past, Iranian drug-busting operations were executed at a very different scale and size. Early operations were conducted by the police and security forces, with minimal help from the IRGC or the regular army. Since the end of the war with Iraq, however, the IRGC and the Iranian Army became more present, especially as by 1996 Iran almost went to war with Taleban regime in Afghanistan. The involvement of regular armed forces reached its peak in 1997/98, when the IRIAA (Islamic Republic of Iran Army Aviation) operated AH-1J Cobra helicopter gunships and Bell 214Cs, out of the Kerman IRIAA regional base, in a series of massive operations along the Afghan border. These were supported also by RF-4Es of the IRIAF and Mohajer UAVs of the IRGCAF flying recce missions deep into Afghanistan. During this emergency, the IRIAF upgraded its existing Imam Reza air transport base near Mashhad, into its 14th Tactical Fighter Base, which in turn received two squadrons worth of a total of 24 Mirage F.1EQs.
The history of Iranian Mirage F.1EQ operations is a relatively short one: a total of 24 aircraft - belonging to very different sub-versions, starting with vanilla F.1EQ one-seaters and F.1BQ two-seaters, over the more sophisticated F.1EQ-2s and 4s (equipped with in-flight refueling probes and LGBs), but foremost the more advanced F.1EQ-5s (equipped with upgraded Cyrano IV-radars and capable of deploying AM.39 Exocet anti-ship missiles) and Mirage F.1EQ-6s were flown by Iraqi pilots to Iran in January and February 1991, fleeing the Desert Storm onslaught and Saddams regime. Together with Mirages, Iraqis also relocated three Il-76MD transports to Iran, all of which arrived loaded to the roof with spare parts and weapons including ATLIS II laser designators, AS.30L ASMs, R.550 Magic Is and COR-2 recce pods.
The IRIAF was not in a hurry to put Mirages into service: testing of six chosen examples was started only in 1992, partially at Mehrabad, and partially at Shiraz and Esfahan, and done with some the help of Pakistani crews who had previously flown Libyan F.1s. Pakistanis were out of Iran already by mid-1993 and the IRIAF then started to prepare the TFB.3, or Nojeh AB, in Kaboodar-Ahang near Hamedan (western Iran), to accommodate the new Mirage fighter-bomber wing. However, as mentioned earlier, the whole wing equipped with Mirages was instead relocated to the TFB.14 in Mashhad, to cover the volatile eastern borders.
From sightings in the late 1990s, it seems that Iranian Mirages initialy still wore the camouflage patterns they carried while in service with the Iraqi Air Force: both tan/chocolate brown and Extra Dark Sea Grey painted examples were noticed at Mashhad; albeit, they all have got the black title IRIAF under the cockpit, as well as IRIAF serials. Serials observed in operation with the IRIAF since the early 1990s are: 3-6210, 3-6212, 3-6213, 3-6214, 3-6217, 3-6401, 3-6402, 3-6403 and 3-6407.
Sometimes in the last three years, however, the whole fleet was repainted. The new camouflage pattern should be similar to that worn by IRIAF F-14s and overhauled MiG-29s now.
Drug-Busting Operations
In the period between 2000 and 2001, the Iranian authorities changed their strategy for drug-busting operations. Local security forces were massively reinforced, thousands of villagers along the eastern Iranian borders were armed to help combat drug traffickers and to supplement deployment of both the Iranian Army and the IRGC forces. The IRGCAF remained very active along the border, foremost using its newly acquired Mi-171 helicopters, as well as AB.206 helos and recce UAVs, and reportedly EMB-312 Tucano light-attack prop-planes.
The IRIAF, on the other side, assisted with PC-6Bs transports, some equipped with downward-looking cameras, and also more powerfull reconnaissance assets, like RF-4Es, and Mirage F.1EQs equipped with recce pods. The TFB.14 seems to have been constantly taking part in such operations, the tempo of which was reported as being heavy.
The first ever photograph of ex-Iraqi Mirage F.1s released outside Iran shows a Mirage F.1BQ (foreground) and a Mirage F.1EQ during landing at Zahedan's "Imam Reza", TFB.14. (Photo: Siavash B., exclusively for ACIG.org)
shit like that? I can go on touting the great achievements of the Islamic Republic.....
