Combat aircraft

3-6036 in September 2008, 3-6042 in

January 2009, and 3-6008 in May 2009.

F-14A serial 3-6002 was released by

IACI and delivered to Isfahan at 14.30hrs

local time on June 23, 2008. It reached

Isfahan at around 16.00hrs, but the

airfield was closed and the approach

observer officer was therefore absent

from the runway caravan.

Unfortunately, the pilot neglected to

lower the undercarriage and the Tomcat

came to rest on its belly. The aircraft

didn’t appear again until 2012,

following a further period of rework.

The advent of the new spares, plus

new threats to Iran, spurred a

rejuvenated Tomcat program. Between

2009 and 2016, even the six F-14s that

were used as spares sources were

carefully restored by experienced

technicians at Isfahan, including

3-6016, which had been stored since

1998. Aircraft 3-6039 was also restored
      in 2012 and was the last F-14A wearing
      the original Asia Minor II camouflage.
      By April 2008, the woeful 16-aircraft
      tally had grown to 23. Iran’s Military
      Day parade on April 18, 2008 saw 15
      F-14As heading for Tehran, with 12 jets
      appearing in four vic formations of
      three each. The final three aircraft were
      delayed on departure from Isfahan and
      didn’t make the flypast.

Over the ensuing years, varying

numbers of Tomcats have flown in the

military parades, giving indications of

the identities of active aircraft. Five took

part in the April 17, 2016, parade:

3-6061, 3-6067 and 3-6071 in vic

formation, and 3-6030 and 3-6041 on

the wings of a KC-707.

In recent years, five Tomcats have been

lost. Two were due to technical failure

and two to pilot error, while the fate that

befell 3-6062 on January 26, 2012, was

somewhat mysterious. The aircraft was

one of four aircraft with the callsign

‘Yavar’, armed with live AIM-9Js and

AIM-7E-2s, that were forward-deployed

to Bushehr in order to bolster the local

quick reaction alert (QRA) provision. On

the fateful night, the crew comprising

Maj Alireza Karimaiee and Capt Mostafa

Fasihi were scrambled to intercept an

unidentified target, before the aircraft

exploded over the island of Abbasak

shortly after take-off.

Serial 3-6039 is the only F-14A

that retains its original Asia Minor II

camouflage. It is now in the queue

for overhaul by IACI at Mehrabad

International Airport. The aircraft is

pictured in October 2016 being washed

down after a simulated chemical attack.

Ali Naderi

Below: Tomcat

3-6054 flying

in an exercise

where it fired the

first overhauled

AIM-54A Phoenix.

This aircraft has

now been out of

service for several

years. Abbasi

http://www.combataircraft.net // June 2018 47

44-51 IRIAF F-14 C.indd 47 19/04/2018 15:40