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Obama Administration to fund additional Israeli Iron Dome mobile air defense systems May 15, 2012

Posted by Richard Clements in Iran, weapons.
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According to an article published by the Jerusalem Post on May 13, the Israeli Defense minister Ehud Barak and U.S. counterpart Leon Panetta will announce (in a press conference to be held after meeting scheduled on May 17) a deal worth $680 in aid to allow Israel to purchase a further 3-4 Iron Dome mobile units.

Currently the Israeli Air Force operates four mobile air defense system batteries with an additional three expected over the coming year.

The existing units have been very busy in recent months with nearly 100 Katyusha and Kassam, launched allegedly from within the Gaza Strip, intercepted.

Ehud Barak’s talks with Panetta are thought to include the continued pursuit of Iran’s nuke capability and the new aid package is seen as a sort of “sweetener” to Jerusalem; a sign of increased coordination with Washington regarding Iran.

The JPost even mentions that Congress is also supporting the development of Arrow-3, Israel’s anti-ballistic missile system as well as a system called David’s Sling, a medium range missle system, under development jointly by Raytheon and Rafael.

Richard Clements for TheAviationist.com

Image credit: IDF

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“Operation Delawor”: when an entire U.S. Army airborne brigade, two F-100 squadrons deployed to Iran for an exercise May 14, 2012

Posted by David Cenciotti in Iran, Military History.
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“Operation Delawor” is an episode of The Big Picture, a series of films produced by the U.S. Army and ran on the ABC-TV from 1951 to 1964. The television program featured exercises, battles, weaponry and famous soldiers’ biographies.

Filmed in April 1964, “Operation Delawor” (from a Persian word meaning “courageous”) recounts of a 3-day exercise during which an entire U.S. Army airborne brigate was airlifted to Iran with all its heavy equipment to train with the local Imperial Armed Forces.

Along with 2,300 troops and 550 tons of material of the 101st Airborne Division from Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, even two F-100 squadrons from Cannon AFB, were deployed to Iran with the support of KC-135 tankers and C-130 cargos.

The exercise featured a combined air drop, an amphibious attack on Kharg Island involving also a U.S. dock landing ship, two destroyers and eight helicopters, and Close Air Support by the F-100s operating from Vahdati AFB with air cover provided by the Imperial Iranian Air Force F-86s.

Min. 23.00 has some interesting air-to-air and activity with Forward Air Controller footage.

In 1964, the U.S. and Iranian military “learned how to work together as a combined joint team involved in a common enterprise”. About 50 years (and a captured stealth drone) later, they could be called to fight each other any time.

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These are the Iranian “Navy SEALs”. Really. April 27, 2012

Posted by David Cenciotti in Iran, Special Operations.
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Update Apr. 27, 2012 21.55 GMT

Looks like the user who uploaded the video has denied the possibility to embed the video. Hence you can’t watch the footage directly on this blog, but you need to visit Youtube. Just a few screenshots are enough here, though.

The soldiers you can see doing base jumping from a bridge near Tehran in the following footage are members of the Iranian Army Special Airborne Forces.

Known as NOHED these are “trained paratroopers similar to US Navy Seals” according to the user who uploaded the video to Youtube.

Yes. Those U.S. Navy SEALs.

The U.S. Navy Special Force Team that about a year ago carried out the helicopter assault on the compound deep inside Pakistan that led to the killing of Osama Bin Laden.

The same whose tactics and equipments were quite effectively depicted in the recent action movie “Act of Valor“.

Anyway, you can judge by yourself:

Here are some screenshots:

Even if it was probably addressed to the average viewer that has no idea how SOF train and operate, it is at least a hazardous comparison.



Navy SEALs jump from a CH-46E Sea Knight chopper during training (U.S. Navy)

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Up-close and personal with Iran’s Air Force: rare insight into pilot’s traditions, procedures, equipment April 19, 2012

Posted by David Cenciotti in Iran.
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An interesting behind the scene video was shot on Apr. 17, when Iran commemorated National Armed Forces Day with a military parade at Tehran.

It shows, Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) pilots before, during and after the flybys providing some interesting details on their traditions, including kissing the Koran before their mission and kissing three times each time other at the end of the sortie; their flight gear (unit patches and flight helmets), and F-4, F-14 and Su-24 hardware.

Unfortunately, no subtitles are available for this documentary.

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Another day, another military parade: Iran celebrates Armed Forces Day April 17, 2012

Posted by David Cenciotti in Iran.
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Just a couple of days after North Korea displayed its military hardware in Pyongyang, during which North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivered his first public televised speech since the failed rocket launch, a new military parade took place in one of world’s most hot places: Iran.

On Apr. 17, Iran commemorated National Armed Forces Day with a ceremony attended by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and several of high-ranking military officials.

According to the Mehr News Agency, thousands goose-stepping soldiers took part to the parade in which some military vehicles and equipment were displayed, including the new generation of the Zolfiqar tank, the Samsam tank, the Borragh personnel carrier, the Naze’at missile launcher, the Misaq 2 missile launcher, the Badr tank transporter, and advanced radar and missile systems.

Several planes attended the “show” as well, including IRIAF F-14s, and Su-24s (performing aerial refueling), even if, to be honest, nothing comparable to the 70 F-15Es launched yesterday by the U.S. Air Force from Seymour Johnson AFB.

If I were to choose between the IRIAF current fighters and the 70 F-15Es of the 4th FW, most probably I’d pick the Strike Eagles.

Image credit: ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images

Addressing the military personnel, Ahmadinejad said:

“Security in the Persian Gulf will be promoted with the participation of regional countries, and the interference of foreigners will bring nothing but insecurity,” he said.

A message to Israel, U.S. and some regional allies, in anticipation of a possible (imminent?) attack on Tehran’s nuclear program.

Image credits: AP Photo/Vahid Salemi and ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images

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New close-up image of Iranian Mohajer-3 drone disclosed April 16, 2012

Posted by David Cenciotti in Drones, Iran.
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Sent to me by a reader of the blog, this image (that as far as I know was originally posted by the Iranian site Mashreghnews.ir) is one the few available on the Internet of what should be a Mohajer-3 drone.

Also known as the “Dorna”, Iran’s Mohajer-3 seems to be quite similar to the Mohajer-2. It is a equipped with a forward facing camera, mounted in the front of the fuselage and is believed to be able to carry TV or FLIR cameras in a new payload bay. It carries also a line-scanner that, according to some Iranian websites, is capable of a 1-meter resolution at an altitude of 5 km.

Image credit: Mashreghnews.ir

Made-in-Iran Syrian drone dubbed “Pahpad” has been widely employed in Syria but the Assad’s regime against the oppositors. For the moment, in spite of the rumors, no images of other types of drones have emerged.

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Analysis: This could be the airfield in Azerbaijan used by the Israeli Air Force to attack Iran March 30, 2012

Posted by David Cenciotti in Iran.
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Even if it is not easy to identify the Azeri airbases the Israeli Air Force would use in case of attack on Iran I thought that it might be interesting to select the one that I would pick if I had to plan a complex strike operation.

I consider quite unlikely the possibility that the IAF will use one of the available airfields in Azerbaijan to launch the first strike for the political/diplomatic consequences as well as the risk that any weird activity spotted there would be a clear sign of an imminent strike. Furthermore, the first strike will involve the largest packages and the creation of a sort-of forward operating base from where first attack sorties could be launched would require a prior air bridge, much support personnel, weapons: something difficult, still not impossible, to hide.

Hence, I will select an airport that could be an used as an intermediate stopover on the return leg from the raid and to launch another strike thereafter; let’s consider it as divert field the Israeli fighters could use for refueling or to get technical assistance. In this case, they would not need much things over there: fuel, support personnel and some technical equipment needed to perform maintenance activities on the planes experiencing (minor) failures.

The same airport could be used to host KC-130s for aerial refueling, as well as Combat SAR assets, even though I would base the latter elsewhere, not far from the border and on an improvised airfield (no need for runway, aprons, taxiways, and so on).

I’ve checked all airports in Azerbaijan using Google Earth. Provided the Israeli were given the clearance to use the Azeri airspace and airports, any runway long enough, could be suitable in case of failure with the airbases equipped with arresting cables and safelands obviously preferred.

Some of the Azeri airports considered in the analysis (all screen dumps taken with Google Earth)

Baku Kala

Many reports have pointed to Baku Kala, near the capital, on the Caspian Sea, 330 miles from Tehran. The base hosts Azeri combat choppers and transport aircraft. Bringing cargo planes over there in anticipation of an air strike would disclose the imminent attack. Unlikely.

Baku Kala airbase

Lankaran

Lankaran, in the South, 34 km from the Iranian border, would be the “most obvious” airbase and for this reason any activity on the small runway would be immediately noticed. Unlikely.

Khankendi

Khankendi in the southwest part looks like abandoned. It is located far from any large town under the control of the de facto control of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, has a few aprons and a taxiway (seemingly in very bad conditions) and a runway about 2,000 mt in length. It was due to be opened to commercial traffic but the opening date of the airport was postponed. Provided the security of the air operations could be ensured in the disputed area (de jure recongnized as part of Azerbaijan) this is one of the airfields I’d consider for a special operations/CSAR force also because of the limited implications for Baku.

Another similar airport (with grass runway) is Tanrykulular in the north part of the country (a bit too far from Iran).

Khankendi

Dollyar

Dollyar airbase is among those I consider suitable, the farthest from Tehran (465 miles). However it is a functional airbase, with empty shelters (some of which destroyed…), taxiways, aprons. A lonely Mig-25 can be spotted using Google Earth. Although a bit distant from Iran, it is also quite isolated. The presence of a Mig makes it an active airbase where movements of planes would not be too suspicious. I think this is one of the likely “places”.

Dollyar

Aghstafa

Aghstafa has just a runway (in poor conditions), it’s far from Iran and relatively next to a village (and to the border with Georgia): I think this airport can be removed from the “list” of suitable airfields.

Gyanzdah

Gyanzdah seems to have the proper infrastructures but it is reported to be also a civilian airport opened to the general air traffic. Indeed the main apron has a mini-terminal: the arrival of foreign military cargos would not be unnoticed. I think it’s quite unlikely it would be considered as a suitable airfield.

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Azerbaijan to host Israeli Air Force planes in case of attack on Iran? March 30, 2012

Posted by Richard Clements in Iran.
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Several news agencies have been running a news story, that appeared first on the Foreign Policy website, according to which Israel has secured the use of at least one of four former Soviet era airbases in Azerbaijan. Something that was often speculated in the last weeks.

At what first appears an unlikely alliance is anything but. Even Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev described his country’s relationship with Israel as an iceberg: “Nine-tenths of it below the surface” in a leaked memo by Wikileaks during 2009.

Azerbaijan and Israel signed a $1.6 billion arms deal for drones and missile defense systems as recently as February. Israel is also Azerbaijan’s largest oil customer so once all of this is pieced together the bigger picture starts to become apparent, even if no one really knows the full extent of the military links between the new allies.

Foreign Policy mentions that one former CIA analyst doubted that Israel will actually launch strikes from Azerbaijan describing it as “too chancy” politically and Azeri officials have already denied the possibility that IAF was granted access to local airbases.

Image credit: U.S. Air Force

Indeed, the likely scenario is that the strike jets will not launch from the Caucasus but that they could  recover to the airbases in Azerbaijan after the strikes on the nuclear facilities in Iran and could either return home or launch follow up strikes thereafter.

What makes this scenario favoured is also that the main airbases in Azerbaijan are supposed to be closely monitored by Iranian observers and, unless the Israeli plans to use improvised airfields, any deployment of Israeli planes before the attack would be a clear sign of an imminent kick-off of the strike.

On the other hand, having an airbase close to Iran would also the IDF the opportunity to deploy and eventually launch ELINT or SIGINT sorties prior to the strike as well as Combat Search And Rescue (CSAR) missions should the need arise.

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Video: Iranian F-14 Tomcats on combat patrol. Unarmed. March 26, 2012

Posted by Richard Clements in Iran.
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Update Mar. 27 09.40 GMT

This short but interesting video (which looks like the result of several footages mixed together) shows one of the most intruguing planes operating with the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force: the F-14 Tomcat.

Along with scenes seemingly excerpted from Top Gun movie, the video (most probably coming from from the Iranian TV series Shoghe Parvaz) shows some AIM-54 Phoenix air-to-air missiles, with several live examples being shown, even if the majority of the F-14s is filmed flying unarmed.

In case of war the IRIAF F-14s could play a (marginal) role perfoming some sortie aimed at disturbing the strike packages and make them waste some fuel.

Noteworthy, as could be noticed on a previously published video, the IRIAF F-14s fly without the IFR (In-Flight Refueling) probe cover because, as explained by Dario Leone, a reader of this blog and an F-14 expert, when they were produced and delivered to Iran they were supposed to be refueled by the U.S. KC-135s whose basket is different (and the cover could get jammed with it) from the ones used by the U.S. Navy S-3s or KA-6s.

For the same reason, during Desert Storm, the U.S. F-14s, that had to be refueled also by Air Force tankers flew without the cover.

There are also images dating back to the early 2000s of U.S. Navy F-14s flying without the cover. According to other sources since the “hatch” blocked quite frequently, especially during low temperature operations, it was removed to prevent it from making air-to-air refueling impossible.

Written with The Aviationist’s Editor David Cenciotti

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Israeli F-15I to be equipped with removable probe for buddy air-to-air refueling in case of attack on Iran? March 23, 2012

Posted by David Cenciotti in Iran.
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Even though nobody knows if an attack on Iranian nuclear program will ever be launched by the Israeli Air Force almost all analysts concur that, whathever its size, the strike force will be made of a certain amount of F-15Is, the Israeli version of the U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle.

Like all the other assets involved in the extremely difficult strike, the IAF F-15s would face serious fuel problems on such a long journey, requiring the support of several tankers; a tanker force whose presence has become paramount for the successful outcome of modern air campaigns (as shown by the Libya Air War).

Above images by Alessandro Borsetti

As the American Strike Eagles, the Israeli F-15Is can be refueled by tankers equipped with a flying boom, using a boom receptacle embedded in the left wing root.

This means that, on the way to their targets, they will have to be refueled several times by either Israeli B-707s or American tankers (U.S. KC-135 and KC-10).

Although the IAF is believed to have 8 B707 still airworthy, someone believes that other planes were reconfigured to serve as tankers in case of a strike. But, at the refueling altitudes this kind of aircraft operates (much lower than the 50,000 feet someone affirmed!), they would be vulnerable to air defenses and, above all, visibile from many miles away announcing the incoming strike with a certain advance.

That’s why the possibility that the F-15I would not only by used as bombers but also as buddy tankers (e.g. to refuel other F-15s in a similar way Tornados or Super Hornets do) is quite likely, even if it would imply the use of an IFR (In-Flight Refueling) probe to be used to take fuel from a hose and drogue system in place of the boom/receptacle system.

In the past, the Israeli Air Force modified its F-4s with a cheap probe much easy to mount and quite effective. A similar kit could be also developed for the Israeli F-15I, in anticipation of a long range strike, as someone speculates. Even if the fuel transfer rate of the fixed boom is higher than the one of a hose and drogue system, and the kit would reduce the aircraft’s top speed, the use of an IFR on the F-15I could give the possibility to the Israeli planners to embed some tankers within the strike package thus reducing the “attack footprint”.

According to a CSIS (Center for Strategic and International Studies) document issued in 2009, studies have already taken place regarding buddy refueling between F-15Es that can be packaged in  an external tank or CFT (Conformal Fuel Tanks). I’ve not found anything to confirm this report, but a similar system has been developed for the UAE AF F-16.

However, if Israel has developed such kit it’s quite unlikely that we will be able to see it: it would be the proof that they are about to launch a deep strike.

In the above rendering by Al Clark, an Israeli F-15I refuels from a US KC-10 over the desert on its way to the target. Al Clark has also drawn a fictional, scene involving an F-117. If you want to see it click here.

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