Footage from the Iranian capital Tehran has confirmed the scrambling of MiG-29A fighter plane guarding the town, after Israel and the US initiated a coordinated large-scale army assault in opposition to the nation concentrating on key management and army services. Unconfirmed reviews point out that assaults on Iran launched thus far have centred round the usage of U.S. Navy BGM-109 Tomahawk land assault cruise missiles, and numerous Israeli air-launched cruise and ballistic missiles such because the Delilah. The scrambling of MiG-29s could have indicated that drones or different low pace targets could have approached the Iranian capital, because the fighters notably lack a missile defence functionality. Different prospects are that they had been scrambled to boost morale, or to redeploy to dispersed or higher fortified areas. MiG-29s based mostly at Mehrabad Worldwide Airport in Tehran are operated underneath the eleventh Tactical Fighter Squadron.
Iran first ordered MiG-29A fighters and MiG-29UB trainers from the Soviet Union in 1989, offering the nation with its first Soviet origin fighter varieties. These noticed their numbers supplemented by further MiG-29s which had been flown to Iranian airfields by Iraqi pilots to flee U.S.-led coalition strikes throughout the Gulf Struggle in 1991. The fighters have been conservatively modernised domestically, however are thought of out of date for top depth engagements with trendy fighter varieties. Nonetheless, the Israeli Air Drive notably depends on ageing fourth technology fighters to type the massive majority of its fleet, lots of that are equally out of date and a few of that are a lot older than Iran’s MiG-29s. MiG-29s can thus doubtlessly pose a risk to Israeli F-16C/D, F-16I, F-15A/B/C/D, and F-15I fighters, notably if these plane are carrying heavy a great deal of air-to-ground ordinance.
Iran has made no important fighter procurements because the disintegration of the Soviet Union, with post-Soviet Russia having constantly been pressured by Israel and Western Bloc states to not provide new fighters. The primary fighter deal between the 2 international locations was reported in 2022 to have been signed for the availability of Su-35 fighters, though these have but to be delivered.Leaked Russian authorities paperwork in late 2025 confirmed that Russia was scheduled to ship of 48 Su-35 fighters to re-equip the Iranian Air Drive, representing half of the Su-35’s whole export profile. With U.S.-led assaults having been launched earlier than the Su-35 could possibly be delivered, the MiG-29 stays Iran’s most succesful fighter sort.
The Iranian Air Drive was reported by native media in September to have acquired new MiG-29 plane from Russia, with these reportedly arriving at Shiraz Air Base. The plane have far decrease procurement and operational prices than the Su-35, which can make them be seen as more economical. The big numbers of MiG-29s Russia has in reserve, and the dearth of necessities for brand new coaching for Iranian personnel, might permit them to be delivered rather more rapidly. If these native media reviews had been correct, it stays extremely unsure what portions of MiG-29s could have been delivered, and whether or not these had been modernised to a ‘4+ technology’ customary with trendy phased array radars and new sorts of missile such because the R-77-1 and R-74, which would supply a tremendously superior fight potential to the Soviet period MiG-29A. Russia has developed quite a lot of ‘4+ technology’ modernisation packages for Soviet period MiG-29 airframes, most notably the MiG-29SMT and MiG-29UPG, which have important efficiency benefits over Israeli fighter varieties apart from the F-35.
