World War 3 is trending these days. The relations escalated very quickly, especially after the assasination of Qassem Soleimani, Islamic Revolutionary Guards' general (now former general). Missiles are being fired from both sides with targets on importamt strategic assests and statements flooded the social media. Instead of a regional conflict, chances of all-out global war are quite high. Considering the fact that many countries have their interests in Iran due to presence of rich oil fields in the region. And the war between two countries affects the world trade. So at this time most of the countries want de-escalation as soon as possible.
Aerial Warfare is always a favourable choice in 5th generation warfare. It assures high damage to enemy with low risk of friendly casualities. The recent US airstrike against Soleimani supports the fact. Instead of sending Special Forces, United Staes preffered drone strike to hit the intended target. However, there are still certain cases where ground forces can do the job much effectively than the Air Force. Anyway, Without wasting any more time, let's start our analysis on aerial warfare capabilities of both countries. Please note that in this analysis, US Navy and Marine Corps are excluded.
Aerial Warfare is always a favourable choice in 5th generation warfare. It assures high damage to enemy with low risk of friendly casualities. The recent US airstrike against Soleimani supports the fact. Instead of sending Special Forces, United Staes preffered drone strike to hit the intended target. However, there are still certain cases where ground forces can do the job much effectively than the Air Force. Anyway, Without wasting any more time, let's start our analysis on aerial warfare capabilities of both countries. Please note that in this analysis, US Navy and Marine Corps are excluded.
Air Dominance Fighter
United States Air Force
Lockheed Martin F-22A "Raptor"
Even after 15 years, the F-22 is still a capable 5th generation fighter proudly serving for it's sole operator, United States Air Force. Thanks to regular upgrades, thereis still no match for F-22 in this world and the aircraft is purely designed for air superiority. With the AN/APG-77 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar gives it a long range detection & tracking capability. The actual range is still classified but it is estimated to be somewhere around 200km against airborne targets with least Radar Cross Section (RCS).
Units in service:- 160+
Boeing F-15C "Eagle"
An aircraft that is developed to take on Soviet Flankers. The aircraft is truly a beast in the skies with the capability of knocking bandits at beyond visual ranges with it's AN/APG-63(v)2 AESA radar coupled with AMRAAM.
Units in service:- 200+
Iranian Air Force
Grumman F-14A "Tomcat"
Acquired in 1976 when there were friendly relations between these two countries, sadly now they are enemies. There were various reasons for this purchase. First was the requirement of an interceptor aircraft for Imperial Iranian Air Force (later renamed as Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force), second was ineffectiveness of Iranian ground based radars as there were various blind spots, allowing Soviet fighters to successfully conduct reconnaissance missions over the territory and return back. This was a concern for the Iranian military that forced them to acquire a fast inteceptor and hence they approached for F-14 "Tomcat", but that only provided them a fast interception of enemy bogies but also it acted as a forward air controller during Iran-Iraq War missions to ensure safe passage for strike group. It was also an effective air suuperiority fighter. Thanks to the AWG-9 X-band pulse doppler radar allows it to track airborne targets within 160 kms.
Units in service:- 50+ (uncomfirmed)
Multirole Fighter/Medium Weight Fighter
United States Air Force
Lockheed Martin F-35 "Lightning II"
Unlike the F-22, this aircraft is in service with various operators around the world. Developed by contribution of United Kingdom, Italy, Netherlands, Denmark, Australia, Norway and Turkey (now kicked out) under the "Joint Strike Fighter" program. The aircraft features AN/APG-81 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar with 150km range for 1m2 RCS targets. It can track 23 airborne targets in 9 seconds and engage 19 of them within 2.4 seconds. It has multiple modes that also includes air-to-ground mode with high resolution mapping, multiple ground moving target indication and track, combat identification, and electronic warfare capability. The aircraft is perfect for multirole operations with complete ability to conduct effective bombing role as well as safeguarding the skies.
Elctronic warfare is one of the distinct features of F-35. It enhances the survivability of the aircraft in intense combat zone. A recent news report claims that Israel Air Force F-35 succesfully managed to evade Russian radars during sorties over Syria, proving how sophisticated is the EW ability of the aircraft that jammed the highly advanced Russian radars. Isareli F-35I "Adir" is also referred as the most advanced F-35 variant.
Units in service:- 200+
Lockheed Martin F-16C/D "Fighting Falcon"
One of the world's favourite fighter aircraft. It is not only a capable machine but also the backbone of US Air Force due to abundant numbers. The fighter incorporates highly advanced avionics, precise armament and state-of-the-art electronic warfare capability with AIDEWS (Advanced Integrated Defensive Electronic Warfare Suite) obtained after upgrades. Since 1991, F-16 took part in numerous combat missions with US Air Force and conducted various successful missions. The AN/APG 68 Pulse Doppler radar is compatible enough to detect targets within 250km range.
Units in service:- 650+
Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-29 "Fulcrum"
Highly capable platform with good quality armament package. The MiG-29 boasts multirole ability, along with beyond visual range air-to-air engagement capability, like every other fighter in it's league. 2 types of variants (excluding trainers) are available, A and S. But the real field where MiG-29 may dominate over it's opponent is close range combat. The Infra-Red Search and Track (IRST) sensor allows the aircraft to maintain the tracking of the aircraft even in very close-combat dogfights.
Units in service:- 30 or more (unconfirmed)
McDonell Douglas F-4 "Phantom"
One of the greatest aircrafts in it's generation. Not truly a 4th generation but has the capability to knock out the opponent (an equivalent opponent) at 35-40km range with AIM-7 BVRAAM, that is compatible with it's AN/APQ-120 Fire-control radar.
Units in service:- 40+
Interceptor/Light Fighter
United States Air Force
-None-
Only trainers
Iranian Air Force
Chengdu F-7 "Airguard"
No expectations with the aircraft. Most of the units are grounded and not ready for combat. Only capable of within visual range combat with Chinese short range air-to-air missiles.
Units in service:- 10+
Northrop F-5 "Tiger"
A light combat aircraft and another fine example of US -Iran friendship in the past. This aircraft too, like the F-7, is incapable of firing beyond visual range missiles. AN/APQ-159 radar only allows a max detection range upto 37km only. Not a surprise as the aircraft is pretty old.
Units in service:- 25+ (unconfirmed)
Dassault Mirage F-1
After two disappointments, finally an aircraft that is capable of engaging aircraft at beyond visual range. But the missile package is unknown. Did you know thaf Iran never placed an order for the Mirage F1s. Actually, during the first Gulf War, coalition forces were dominating over Iraq. That forced Iraqi Air Force to surrender 24 of it's Mirages to Iran in order to save themselves from opposing bombers. Iran recieved these aircrafts as a "gift from Saddam". Earlier, there were difficulty in operating these jets but later, with some dirty work, Iran managed to gather enough supply parts to maintain them well. However, the current status is unknown with only 2 are rumoured to be in flyable condition.
Units in service:- 2 or more. (Unconfirmed)
As you notice that Iranian Air Force is flying with majority of aged fighters. And there is surely no match for modern American fighters which are highly upgraded with sophisticated modern technology. Also, as far as their indigenous fighters are concerned, like Azarkash, Saeqeh and Kowsar, experts believe that all are just showpieces without actual capabilities. So we excluded it from our list. But the article is not over yet. Now it is time for some weapon comparison. For air-to-air engagement, missiles are topmost priority in 5th generation warfare environment. So we are going to compare the armament of both fighter fleet:
R-27EA (Iran) and AIM-120C-7 (USA)
R-27EA is active with MiG-29 fleet. It is an active radar guided variant of R-27 with 9B-1103K active seeker. It is capable of achieving a soeed of Mach 4 and a range upto 125km.
AIM-120C is primarily deployed on most of the USAF aircraft. The missile is highly effective under 110km range with a speed of Mach-4.
What makes AIM-120 better is it's comparatively smaller size than R-27EA, making it manuverable and gives it more range in look-down-shoot-down mode.
AIM-120C is primarily deployed on most of the USAF aircraft. The missile is highly effective under 110km range with a speed of Mach-4.
What makes AIM-120 better is it's comparatively smaller size than R-27EA, making it manuverable and gives it more range in look-down-shoot-down mode.
Fakour-90 (Iran) vs AIM-120 (USA)
IRIAF F-14 carrying AIM-54 (on which Fakour is based) under it's belly
When Iran recieved F-14s, the Air Force also recieved 200+ AIM-54 long range air-to-air missiles. And they used it extensively during Iran-Iraq war causing heavy damage to Iraqi Air Force. But the service life exhausted and forced Iran to look for an alternative. Sanctions didn't allow Iran to acquire more missile and they worked on the indigenous system with basic airframe of AIM-54. After working with the USSR, Iran developed their own BVRAAM and name it Fakour-90. The missile is right now installed on Iranian F-14s and the estimated range is somewhere around 220km, and a speed of Mach 5 with much better guidance than original AIM-54, that is active radar guidance independent of launch aircraft's radar.
AIM-120D is probaly the best air-to-air missile in service with USAF. Right now deployed on F-22 and F-35 aircrafts. The range is not yet revealed but the estimations say it is somewhere around 145-150km. One thing that makes AIM-120D much better than Fakour is it's dual link feature. It allows cueing of the system with another friendly system, like an AWACS or fighter, that guides the missile towards the target, leaving the launch platform safe. It is usually preferred for extended range. Also an expanded No-Escape Zone (NEZ) assurs high kill rate against airborne targets. The best feature of AIM-120 missile is it's anti-jamming capability. During the course of moving towards the target, AIM-120 works in passive guidance and becomes active only 3-4 prior of impact, making nearly impossible for the bandit to evade (different result if the opponent is an experienced aviator). But it is an unpredictable case so technology wise, our winner here is AIM-120D.
R-73, PL-5, AIM-9P/N (Iran) and AIM-9X (USA)
R-73 is primarly deployed on Iranian MiG-29s. It has an all-aspect Infrared passive homing seeker with high agility which is the result of unique combined gas/aerodynamic control system with thrust vector. Powered by a solid-fuel rocket engine, the missile can hit targets while flying at speeds up to Mach 2.5 and has an excellent range upto 30 kilometres. R-73E also features high off-boresight view cued with the Shchel-3UM helmet mounted display, allowing targets to be engaged far off the aircraft’s center-line. Unlike R77, it has a respected combat record with succesful kills in various aerial engagements specially in the Eritrean–Ethiopian War where both countries used R-73 missiles against each other.
PL-5 is a reverse engineered AIM-9 featuring Russian K-13 technology. It carries a 6kg warhead with laser proximity fuse detonation system. It has a speed upto Mach 2.5 and can engage targets under the range of 18 kms. PL-5 features a double delta canards, and 40G manoeuvre capability.
AIM-9 is in service with both Iran and USA. The variant AIM-9N used by IRIAF, is ofcourse, older and less capable than the one used by USAF. The AIM-9X is the latest variant of AIM-9 "Sidewinder" fitted on USAF fighters for short range engagements. The biggest improvement in the latest variant is an Imaging Infra-Red (IIR) seeker. It enables the system interpret the different parts of a target aircraft and hit the most appropriate section. Imaging Infrared guided missiles are also very hard to fool with hot flares and much more precise than standard heat-seeker missiles. This makes AIM-9X much better than R-73 and PL-5 in the guidance term.
PL-5 is clearly no match for AIM-9X while R-73 may give a competition due to 40° High-Off Boresight (HOB) capability. However, AIM-9X achieved a 90° high-off boresight abilit. So whether it is manuverability, target acquisition or off-boresight range, AIM-9X is surely better than the Iranian counterparts.
Sadly, I don't find anymore missiles that can be compared. Eg, Iran use R-27 family of Semi-active radar guided missiles (except R-27T and R-27EA) and also AIM-7 "Sparrow". These type of missiles need launch platform's radar to maintain a lock and reach the target. But US already phased out the AIM-7 missiles and no more use any Semi-Active radar guided air-to-air missiles so it would be unfair to compare R-27 with any other missile in US inventory.
Therefore, the conclusion is that whatever is in the inventory of Iran, is not sufficient enough to compete against American counterpart. In the category of 5th generation aerial warfare, Iran needs a lot of improvement to fight against the Superpower. I know I excluded Electronic Warfare and Airborne Early Warning (AEW) systems. This is because EW systems will be effective in jamming ground based radars in this scenario and AEW guide the Air Force formation towards the target. So can't count these systems for our article.
Special thanks to Combat Aviation Hub for help in this article.
PL-5 is a reverse engineered AIM-9 featuring Russian K-13 technology. It carries a 6kg warhead with laser proximity fuse detonation system. It has a speed upto Mach 2.5 and can engage targets under the range of 18 kms. PL-5 features a double delta canards, and 40G manoeuvre capability.
AIM-9 is in service with both Iran and USA. The variant AIM-9N used by IRIAF, is ofcourse, older and less capable than the one used by USAF. The AIM-9X is the latest variant of AIM-9 "Sidewinder" fitted on USAF fighters for short range engagements. The biggest improvement in the latest variant is an Imaging Infra-Red (IIR) seeker. It enables the system interpret the different parts of a target aircraft and hit the most appropriate section. Imaging Infrared guided missiles are also very hard to fool with hot flares and much more precise than standard heat-seeker missiles. This makes AIM-9X much better than R-73 and PL-5 in the guidance term.
PL-5 is clearly no match for AIM-9X while R-73 may give a competition due to 40° High-Off Boresight (HOB) capability. However, AIM-9X achieved a 90° high-off boresight abilit. So whether it is manuverability, target acquisition or off-boresight range, AIM-9X is surely better than the Iranian counterparts.
Sadly, I don't find anymore missiles that can be compared. Eg, Iran use R-27 family of Semi-active radar guided missiles (except R-27T and R-27EA) and also AIM-7 "Sparrow". These type of missiles need launch platform's radar to maintain a lock and reach the target. But US already phased out the AIM-7 missiles and no more use any Semi-Active radar guided air-to-air missiles so it would be unfair to compare R-27 with any other missile in US inventory.
Therefore, the conclusion is that whatever is in the inventory of Iran, is not sufficient enough to compete against American counterpart. In the category of 5th generation aerial warfare, Iran needs a lot of improvement to fight against the Superpower. I know I excluded Electronic Warfare and Airborne Early Warning (AEW) systems. This is because EW systems will be effective in jamming ground based radars in this scenario and AEW guide the Air Force formation towards the target. So can't count these systems for our article.
Special thanks to Combat Aviation Hub for help in this article.
~Devildog
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