Combat aircraft

the exercise to detect any foreign

reconnaissance aircraft or drones. A

Dassault Falcon 50EX ‘Saye’ (‘Shadow’)

electronic warfare (EW) aircraft was

used to provide a jamming environment

for the participants. On stand-by at

TFB.8 for search and rescue was an IRIAF

Bell 214C helicopter, serial 4-9444.

First day of training

On the  rst morning, participants

practised for the air-to-air and air-

to-ground missions that would be

carried out the next day. Three F-4Es

from TFB.6 Yassini each  ew with a

TGM-65A Maverick captive air-launched

training missile (CATM). The crew of a

fourth F-4E belonging to TFB.3 dropped

a GBU-87/B Ghased TV-guided bomb,

while a TFB.7 Su-24MK launched a

Kh-25ML (AS-10 ‘Karen’) laser-guided air-

to-ground missile.

At the same time, two MiG-29UBs

participated in dissimilar air combat

training (DACT) missions with a pair of

F-14As that were providing top cover for

the F-4s, F-5s and F-7s. Two F-5Fs also

undertook DACT with two F-4Es. Pairs of

F-7Ns, F-5E/Fs, and Saeghe I/IIs honed

their rocketry skills with 2.75in (70mm)

training rockets  red from 19-tube

LAU-3A launchers, while four each of

F-4Es and F-5E/Fs delivered Mk81 and

Mk82 training bombs.

Night missions

The combat phase of the exercise started

on the evening of October 31, after

intelligence had been gathered by an

RF-4E of the 31st Tactical Reconnaissance

Squadron forward-deployed to TFB.8,

and by three Mohajer-3 and Mohajer-4

unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The

video footage and photos were analyzed

and targets were selected on a 1:1-scale

EXERCISE REPORT // ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN AIR FORCE

44 February 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net

42-49 Iran Exercise C.indd 44 13/12/2017 14:41