OPERATIONAL STATUS OF IRANIAN AIRCRAFT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: NGA Records (Formerly NIMA)
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91T01115R000100160002-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 15
• Document Creation Date: December 28, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 2, 2010
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: March 1, 1984
• Content Type: REPORT

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Directorate of
Intelligence
Secret
Operational Status of
Iranian Aircraft (s)
Secret
d 8_1~2~C
March 1984
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Warning Notice Intelligence Sources
or Methods Involved
(WNINTEL)
National Security Unauthorized Disclosure
Information Subject to Criminal Sanctions
Dissemination Control NOFORN (NF) Not releasable to foreign nationals
Abbreviations NOCONTRACT (NC) Not releasable to contractors or contractor/consultants
REL...
FGI
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Derived from multiple sources
Abbreviations for compartmented codewords are:
U -UMBRA Z - ZARF G -GAMMA
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Intelligence 25X1
Operational Status of
Iranian Aircraft (s)
Information available as of
31 December 1983 has been used
in the preparation of this
report. (U)
March 1984
!A RA-100)A!'
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Operational Status of
Iranian Aircraft (s)
Summary
Imagery analysis of Iranian fighter and military transport air-
craft indicates that only a small portion of the prewar service-
able fighter aircraft are now operational, while most of the
military transport aircraft are still serviceable. Of a prewar
inventory of about 450 fighters, only 30 to 36 F-4s, 17 to 21
F-5s, and 14 to 20 F-14s appeared to be operational as of
31 December 1983. Another 40 to 46 fighters seen at airfields
and repair facilities were identified as derelicts. The rest of
the prewar inventory of fighter aircraft have been lost in combat
or are nonoperational aircraft that are being stripped of parts
to keep other aircraft in service. These findings tend to
corroborate a May 1982 CIA report, based largely on nonimagery
sources, which assessed a substantial decrease in Iranian air
power since the beginning of the Iran-Iraq War.
We estimate from imagery that Iran has an operational fleet of
military transport aircraft consisting of 12 Boeing 747s, eight
Boeinq 707s, 28 to 37 C-130s, 12 Fokker F.27s, 14 Falcon 20s, and
one or two P-3s. One to three C-130s, one Boeing KC-707, and
three or four P-3s were judged to be nonoperational as of 31
December 1983. Most of the Iranian military air transport fleet
is based at Tehran Mehrabad Airfield.
Imagerv shows a slight increase,) 25X1
in the number of operational fighter and milit'25X1
transport aircraft in Iran's inventory. We would have expecLea
the opposite to have occurred--that war losses and maintenance
problems would have caused a reduction in the number of opera-
tional aircraft. We are unsure how the Iranians managed to
increase their operational aircraft during this period, but we
speculate that they may have developed a more effective program
of cannibalizing parts from derelict aircraft to make others
operable or that they may be flying more marginally capable
aircraft.
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Prior to the war with Iraq, Iran had an inventory of approxi-
mately_ 450 US-manufactured fighter aircraft. This inventory has
since dwindled substantially, largely because of combat losses.
The lack of spare parts, combat damage, and shortages of qual-
ified maintenance personnel have also rendered a large number of
fighters nonoperational. Based on the analysis of reports from a
number of sources of varying degrees of reliability, a May 1982
CIA study reported about 175 fighters lost during the war and
another 175 grounded as of April 1982. (S
This study was undertaken to estimate from imagery the number,
type, and location of Iranian fighter aircraft that remain
operational--that is, capable of flight. The paper begins with a
discussion of the methodology used to distinguish operational
from nonoperational aircraft. (S
On the basis of this methodology, we have estimated the number,
type, and location of most operational fighter aircraft, as well
as the nonoperational fighter aircraft stored in the open. We
have also presented our estimate of the number, type, location,
and operational status of medium- and large-sized military
transport aircraft. We have not included in this study those
transport air raff- that- are used exclusively as civil passenger
aircraft. (S
Figure 1
Permanent Deployment Bases for Iranian
Military Aircraft
Tabriz
? 'Tehran
Shahroki
-- !Shiraz
,Bushehr
+ Fighter base
Transport base
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Fighter Deployment and Operational Status
We estimate Iran had 30 to 36 F-4, 17 to 21 F-5, and 14 to 20
F-14 aircraft operational at the end of December 1983. Another
10 to 16 F-4, 28 F-5, and two F-86 aircraft seen in the open were
judoed to be nonoperational, and most of these were obvious dere-
licts. The deployment of these aircraft by type and number is
shown in tables 1 and 2. We believe that Iran has additional
fighters stored in covered shelters and maintenance facilities,
but we believe these aircraft are not operational because we see
no evidence of the activity normally associated with operational
aircraft. (S
Because Iran has had difficulty in getting spare parts, some
aircraft have been stripped of parts to keep others in service.
Most of the nonoperational aircraft parked in the open were
probably placed there after being stripped of scarce parts and
electronics. Some of these aircraft were randomly parked in
groups off the runway, indicating they were junked airframes;
others were parked near runwa s, probably to simulate operational
aircraft (figure 3). (S 25X1
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Table 1
Estimated Number of Selected Aircraft Types at Iranian Airfields
Aircraft Type Operational Nonoperational or
By Airfield Aircraft Derelict Aircraft
F-4
4-9
10-16
F-5
11-15
1
C-130
17-20
1-3
747
12
707
8
F.27
9
Falcon
20
14
T-
33
3
Tehran Dosan Tappeh
T-33
F.27
1-2
3
F-4
4
F-5
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Aircraft Type Operational
By Airfield Aircraft
F-4 9
F-14 6-8
KC-707
P-3 1-2
C-130 8-12
F-14 8-12
C-130 3-4
F-5 2
Bandar Abbas
F-4
Chah Bahard
a One C-130 is probably an
RC/EC-130.
bThe F-4s occasionally deploy
to Shiraz Airfield from an
unknown location. Only six P-
3s were delivered to Iran.
They were originally assigned
to Bandar Abbas Airfield.
Nonoperational or
Derelict Aircraft
1
3-4
The F-5s departed this
airfield in December 1983. We
are not sure where they are
now located.
dThis airfield is used as a
forward operating base.
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Table 2
Total Estimated Number of Selected Aircraft Types in Iranian Inventory
Aircraft
Type
Operational
Aircraft
Nonoperational or
Derelict Aircraft
F-5
17-21
T-33
1-2
F.27 12
P-3 1-2
F-86 2
a Including a possible RC/EC-130.
bincluding tanker versions.
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It appears that most F-4 aircraft maintenance and cannibalization
takes place at Iran Aircraft Industries (IACI) , a government-
owned aerospace company that provides the majority of all depot-
level maintenance for military aircraft. Increasing numbers of
F-4s have appeared at IACI since the beginning of 1982, providing
evidence of a growing maintenance problem with these aircraft
(figures 4 and 5) . According to a reliable source, periodic
depot maintenance now takes four to six months to complete for an
F-4, compared to the two or three months it took prior to the
war. (S ~ 25X1
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F-5 aircraft have not been noted at IACI, except for one F-5
aircraft fuselage that has been there for over two years.
According to various sources, maintenance facilities are
available at airfields where F-5s are based. Iran has also had
the F-5 longer than any other fighter aircraft, so they have
greater familiarity with its equipment and probably have
qualified personnel at the airbases to perform maintenance.
Maintenance for the F-14 is probably done at both IACI and at the
bases of Khatami and Shiraz where these aircraft are assigned
(figure 6). (SF_~ 25X1
Military Transport Aircraft Deployment and Operational Status
We estimate Iran had 12 Boeing 747, eight Boeing 707/KC-707, 28
to 37 C-130, 12 Fokker F.27, 14 Falcon 20, and one or two P-3
aircraft operational at the end of December 1983. In addition,
one to three C-130s, one Boeing KC-707, and three or four P-3
aircraft were judged to be nonoperational. The bulk of the air
transport fleet is based at Tehran Mehrabad Airfield. The type
and number of trans transport aircraft at each airfield are shown in
tables 1 and 2. (S 25X1
The nonoperational C-130 aircraft were parked on aprons at Tehran
Mehrabad and were partially disassembled. The nonoperational
Boeing KC-707 and P-3 aircraft were located at Shiraz. One of
these C-130s and the KC-707, which was also missing its left
wingtip have been in nonoperational status for over a year.
(s 25X
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Recent Changes In Operational. Fighter and Military Transport
Aircraft Inventories
During the latter half of 1983, the overall number of operational
fighter and military transport aircraft in Iran's inventory
increased slightly, as shown on table 3. We are unsure how the
Iranians accomplished the increase in view of Iran's aircraft
maintenance difficulties, which has been reported by several
sources. We speculate, however, that the recent increases may
have resulted from a more effective cannibalization program of
removing parts from derelict aircraft and using them to keep a
greater number of other aircraft flyable. Alternatively, the
Iranians may have elected to fly more aircraft without all of
their subsystems operable. If the latter is true, the Iranians
would be accepting the risk of flying larger numbers of mar-
ginally capable aircraft at reduced levels of effectiveness.
Various human sources have previously reported that the Iranians
fly some of their aircraft with inoperable subsystems. We have
no information to indicate the Iranians have obtained aircraft
parts from other countries, although the possibility exists that
they may have clandestinely obtained such parts. (S
Table 3
Changes in Number of Operational Aircraft in Iranian Inventory
Aircraft Operational
Type
Aircraft as of
Note: No changes were
observed in the number of
operational C-130, T-33, 747,
707, F.27, Falcon 20 and F-86
aircraft in Iran's inventory
between
Operational
Aircraft as of
30-36
17-21
14-20
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