Retired by the US Navy more than seven years ago, the iconic Grumman F-14 remains in service with the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF). Iran extensively used its Tomcats in the Iran-Iraq War and the F-14A is still today the backbone of IRIAF air defense.
In the last years the “Persian cats” have reportedly flown against a very particular threat: the Unidentified Flying Objects, universally known as UFO.
More detailed information about this weird use of the last operational Tomcats can be find in the October 2013 issue of Combat Aircraft.
An interesting article written by Babak Taghvaee gives an exclusive overview of IRIAF F-14s missions conducted to intercept UFOs. But according to Taghavee these unknown flying objects didn’t conduct any extraterrestrial activity: “When Iran’s suspicious nuclear program was revealed to the public, Western nations, led by US and Israel, warned it to abandon its nuclear activities. The US attempted to gather information concerning the activities at three important Iranian nuclear facilities: the reactor of Bushehr, an additional reactor in Arak and the fuel enrichment plant at Natanz. A number of reconnaissance UAVs were sent to collect intelligence to help prepare for a possible attack.”
To intercept UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), IRIAF F-4Es and F-14As, based to Bushehr to serve as QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) interceptors, were scrambled several times. But the American drones have astonishing flight characteristics: “Including an ability to fly outside the atmosphere, attain a maximum cruise speed of Mach 10, and a minimum speed of zero, with the ability to hover over the target” as explained by Taghavee. These performances along with their powerful ECM make the F-14s unable to operate their weapons.
But, according to Taghavee, at least one time a Tomcat was able to come very close to an engagement with one of these “UFOs”: “In one case over Arak in November 2004, the crew of an F-14A armed with two AIM-9Js and two AIM-7E-4s spotted a luminous object flying near the heavy water plant of the Arak site. When the beam of the jet’s AN/AWG-9 radar painted the object, both the RIO and pilot saw that the radar scope was disrupted, probably due to the high magnetic energy of the object increasing the power of the reflected radar waves. The pilot described the object as being spherical, with something like a green afterburner creating a considerable amount of turbulence behind it. The Tomcat crew achieved a lock-on when it was flying a linear and constant flight path. Once the pilot selected an AIM-7E-4 to launch against it, the object increased its speed and then disappeared like a meteor.”
This kind of flight were suspended after several attempts to intercept the US UAVs were made by F-4Es and F-14A over the Bushehr, Arak and Natanz plants, but, as reported in the article, another mission was launched around the 04.20hrs on January 26, 2012, when “an Iranian Air Defense Command radar site near Bushehr identified an unknown aircraft flying towards the area. An F-14A was ordered to scramble. At 04.30hrs it took off from TFB.6, ( 6th Tactical Fighter Base, placed near Bushehr) but seconds later the fighter exploded, killing both crew instantly. The reason for the incident remains a mystery, and the aircraft involved was one of the fittest IRIAF Tomcats, with the lowest flying hours in the fleet.”
This Tomcat was the serial 3-6062, the one which could have been shot down by the “Revolutionary Guards” air defense as explained recently by The Aviationist. So if this was the cause of the “incident” (several sources believe the F-14 was not shot down by “friendly fire”), it becomes clear that there wasn’t any UFO involved in this mishap and it remains unexplained only the nature of the drones involved in the intelligence activity over Iranian nuclear plants.
We can affirm that while many times in the last years several UAVs flew over Iran to gather information (such as the stealthy RQ-170 captured in December 2011), a drone with flight characteristics like those described by Taghvaee is still unkown, unless we assume the SR-72, a replacement of the SR-71, or something similar, is already covertly flying.
But again, Taghvaee has no doubts about the nature of these unidentified flying objects, since in his article he says that “After two years of research on the objects flight profiles and examination of remnants of a crashed example recovered in 2006 (in both Iran and then by experts in Russia), the Iranian Army specified that they were US intelligence drones.”
Dario Leone for TheAviationist.com
Image credit: IRIAF Facebook page
Related articles
What are your several sources that claim 3-6062 was not shot down by friendlies? Thanks.
The author of the Combat Aircraft article is among them.
These UFO incidents go back to 2002-2003. At the time I was in the IRIAF, and none of our jets were able to track or see these objects on their radars.
Winston, are you indicating that the objects/drones were not there or just that your radar could not detect them but you could visually see them?
The objects were VID’d or seen but could not be seen on the radar and no lock-on could be made but that was 2002.
If you read the article, you will find that one of these sources is Taghvaee, the Combat Aircraft article author.
Of course he’d say that. He works for the IRIAF and he has to toe the official policy. I’ve talked to the 3-6062 crew’s friends and squadron-mates.
Did you talk to the 3-6062 crew’s friends and squadon-mates? Do you have any furhter informations?
Yes. I did. What else would you like to know? I can relay your questions to them.
I was even told the type of the IRGC missile system that brought the F-14 down.
what type was it? and you were in IRIAF till 2002-2003?! it doesn’t look like it.
The way you speak I believe you are a second generation Iranian who has a father who served in IIAF.
Hogwash: Taghvae used to work for the MOD, not for the IRIAF: he was meanwhile forced to leave the country because of threats for his personal security.
Your personal campaigns against anybody publishing anything about the IRIAF _you_ don’t like are getting ridiculous. Solution is simple: if you really have as ‘excellent’ information as you hollowly claim (since more than 10 years) to have: publish it.
Hey I am no manipulator of facts or a liar like you are. LOL!
No, you’re no ‘manipulator’: you just happen to be spreading rumours about supposed ‘shooting down’ of the F-14A ‘3-6062’ – originally launched by a teenager with internet access, and taking place dozens of kilometres away from the nearest SAM site (well away its range) – as ‘bare truth’, while calling anybody who says what really happened a ‘liar’.
Winston, aka Phoenix, aka whatever-else, supposedly living in Canada, Sweden or wherever else you might like: you’ve been banned from about a dozen of places (including ACIG and TomcatSunset Forum) for personal threats and offense.
As said above (and as said to you already years ago): either you have solid information that you can verify and publish, or stop vasting everybody’s time and go and find yourself some other place for your personal vendettas.
It is wasting not vasting.
Hi Tom,
Babak Taghvee recently tweeted some scans of what could be an IRIAF document about UFOs abd this story is mentioned. Did the IRIAF declassify this document in your opinion?
Thanks and cheers.
https://twitter.com/BabakTaghvaee/status/942387659560947712
so U.S had a drone with maximum speed of mach10, minimum 0 in 2004 but used RQ170 in 2012? you guys just watch too much um… no can’t find any example even in your sci-fi movies, must be one of your TV series. you are humiliating yourself by referring to this man’s articles. if U.S had anything better than the RQ-170 then C.I.A wouldn’t hesitate to use it.
Interesting that despite being identified as US/Israeli drones, these lights seem to share the ‘traditional’ characteristics of UFOs. Eg glowing, odd radar returns, incredible manoeuvrability, or to put it simply, impossible characteristics.
There was a conjunction of Venus and Jupiter during February 2012, just saying.
Mr Winston did you know Sarhang Yahya Hosseni? He was a F-14 pilot in Isfahan.
I have never been in Esfahan AB. Sorry. But I can ask around.
Sorry about double post, he was very good friends with War hero Jalal Zandi who was not liked by the Islamic regime and called taghooti because of his loyalty to the Shah and the imperial regime.
Sure thing. I was a family friend of BG Zandi. A real fighter pilot and a classy man. RIP. We lived on the same street.
When the regime didn’t like anyone, they would label them monafegh, taghooti or whatever. It’s crazy. Zandi god bless his soul probably had more kills then 9 but they gave some of his kills to more regime friendly pilots.
Babbaei and Zandi did not like eachother much according to Tom Cooper.Another F-14 Instructor pilot Afkhami went through the same treatment with Babbaei.. This Babbaei guy was crazy.
Forget Tom Cooper, my friend. He is a yellow journalist/author. But yes Babaei signed on Zandi’s death warrant for the simple reason that he refused to fly an F-33C Bonanza in bad weather. Jalil Zandi was also an accomplished Santoor player too.