VIGIL CONSILIUMSearch
Context. Not headlines.
Equipment catalogue · shared across conflicts

Combat aircraft · Legacy fighter and strike fleet

Iranian Air Force fighter fleet

The fighter force the Shah bought and the revolution kept — F-14s, F-4s and F-5s flying half a century on, with Soviet types added and a domestic reverse-engineering industry behind them — recorded as one capability because its analytical meaning is the whole fleet's obsolescence, not any type's characteristics.

IRIAF legacy fightersUnited States, Soviet Union / Russia, Iran1970s American types; Soviet and Chinese additions in the 1990s; reported Russian deliveries in the 2020s

Status as of
2026-09
Last reviewed
2026-09-09

AssessmentModerate confidence

Recognition context, not a stat sheet. The catalogue covers major publicly documented systems relevant to the conflicts Vigil covers — not an exhaustive order of battle. No quantities, availability or current allocations are recorded.

The recordWhat this system is, where it comes from, who operates it and which of Vigil’s modules it is relevant to — with the evidence each of those rests on.

FieldedEvidence: Documented
Silhouette · not to scale

Record

FamilyIRIAF legacy fighters
VariantsF-14A Tomcat; F-4 Phantom II; F-5 Tiger II; MiG-29; Su-24; Kowsar; Su-35 (reported)
OriginUnited States, Soviet Union / Russia, Iran
Era1970s American types; Soviet and Chinese additions in the 1990s; reported Russian deliveries in the 2020s
Appears inIran–Gulf 2026 war

Conflict relevance

This is the catalogue's single record for this system. It is relevant to the module below; each module's Force Atlas shows how it is used there.

Iran–Gulf · Force Atlas

Operators

Iran and the Gulf · Primary operator

Iran and the Gulf: The Artesh Air Force's fixed-wing combat fleet, recorded as one capability.

Battlefield role

Air defence of Iranian airspace and limited strike, in theory; in practice the reason Iran's strike capability sits in missiles rather than aircraft.

Strengths

An overhaul and parts-manufacturing base that has kept 1970s aircraft airworthy under four decades of sanctions, which is an industrial achievement whatever it says about the aircraft.

Limitations

Unable to contest airspace against the opponents Iran actually faces: Israeli and United States aircraft operated over Iran in both the June 2025 and 2026 campaigns. Serviceability is unknown from open sources. Reported Russian Su-35 deliveries are carried as reported.

Documented conflict use

The Iran–Iraq war is the fleet's combat record; no engagement in the 2025 or 2026 wars is established from open sources.

Branch & service operators

PartialConfidence: ModerateSources: IISS Military Balance↗ · Iranian armed-forces institutional referenceMethodologyCorrections

Assessed as of2026-09Last reviewed2026-09-09