#F5 Freedom Fighter

[spockvarietyhour]

Thirteen Days + Military Hardware

[chrisrobe96]

IIAF Modernisation Plan

In the 1970s Iran was modernising at a rapid rate and certainly these efforts can be seen in the expansion and new equipment being acquired by its armed forces. Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran was especially keen on bringing his most favourite branch, the Imperial Iranian Air Force (IIAF) to the highest standard using the best available aircraft and weapon systems manufactured at the time.

The Shah was interested in creating the most powerful Air Force in the Middle East, as well as ensuring his country was able to defend itself against any Soviet expansion in the area as they had already clashed in several airspace violations resulting in a number of aircraft lost. For this his Air Force commanders had come up with a rather ambitious plan to bring the IIAF up to strength using the best available equipment, regardless of the cost.

The plan involved introducing the following aircraft into service:

Northrup F-5E/F Freedom Fighters: By 1976 over 166 of these aircraft were already in IIAF service, replacing the earlier A/B variants and able to mount more modern armaments like the AGM-65 Maverick or the BL.755 cluster bombs.

McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom IIs: First entering service in 1968 the mighty Phantom would form the backbone of the IIAF and by 1979 there were over 240 in service and these included 40 F-4Ds, 170 F-4Es and 30 RF-4E photo reconnaissance aircraft. They were a step up from the F-5s and could carry almost anything the Air Force needed including GBU-10 laser guided bombs and Mk.82 Snakeye bombs.

Grumman F-14A GR Tomcat: The core of the IIAFs plans, the mighty Tomcat would be Iran’s premier fighter/Interceptor with its phenomenal AN/AWG-9 weapon control system paired with the powerful Aim 54A Phoenix missiles allowing it to own long distance engagements and yet its straight forward flying characteristics and low speed agility made it a deadly dogfighter when needed. By 1978 there were 79 out of the 80 in Iran and plans were drawn up for an additional 70 aircraft, taking the potential number in service to 150 (although Iran was not willing to acquire anymore of them until the problematic Pratt & Whitney TF-30 414 engines were replaced as the stalling issues were already apparent). In addition 712 Aim 54As had been ordered.

General Dynamics F-16A/B Fighting Falcon: Over 300 F-16A/Bs were planned to be acquired and work alongside the existing F-5E/Fs and cover different parts of the country, the new Fighting Falcons would have been able to carry most of the modern arms being introduced and would have been by far the most numerous aircraft in the IIAF. Equipment and jigs needed to look after the aircraft were being set up in Iran when the 79’ revolution ended US-Iran relations before any of the aircraft were completed (interesting fact these aircraft would end up in Israel).

Northrop F/A-18L Hornet: A planned land-based export model of the Navy’s F/A-18A that had just entered service, 150 of these had been planned for service starting in the mid-1980s and would have certainly have been one of the more powerful mutli-role aircraft in the IIAF, possibily replacing the F-4s that were already in service.

Boeing E-3 Sentry: As well as having a powerful fleet of fast jets the IIAF needed to allow the aircraft to be controlled effectively and securely and so a total of 8 E-3s had been planned as well as 2 communication satellites to allow all the aircraft to operate effectively and the E-3’s Radar would completely avoid the poor coverage problems faced by the ground stations due to the geographical nature of the country and the poor equipment being used.

In all the IIAF’s combat aircraft strength would have peaked at over 1000 aircraft by the late 1980s/ early 90s had the plans been allowed to happen and it was hoped the IIAF’s training schools would qualify 200 new pilots a month once the infrastructure was in place, the pilots being trained to top western standards, especially those who were to fly the Tomcats.

I doubt however this would have ever happened, I’m sure the US, especially once Jimmy Carter was elected would never have allowed Iran to reach such a level of power, it’s Air Force alone would have been more powerful than most NATO nations and certainly Iran’s population would have been bitter to see so much money being spent on a vast and costly fleet of aircraft when the country itself was far from modernised, almost being a waypoint between the new world and the traditional Islamic world. However even with just the F-5s, F-4s and the F-14s Iran was already in a different league with its air Power, something that would be demonstrated in the brutal air war with Iraq just a few years later.

Had the plans been allowed to happen the capabilities of the IIAF would have been vast, combining the best Modern US-produced aircraft with up-to-date weapons and state of the art communications and radar coverage and would certainly had been difficult to challenge. An interesting look at the ambitions of the Shah before we was swept from power and many of these planned ideas would never happen.

[venezuelaflight]

Canadair VF-5

Venezuelan Air Force

[fireinhorizon]

Turkish Star NF-5 Freedom Fighter

[j-r-macready]

Patrouille historique Swiss Air Force by Laurent Quérité Via Flickr: HB-RVF - De Havilland DH55 Vampire T.55 HB-RDF - Dassault Mirage III HB-RVW Hawker Hunter T.68 J.3201 - Northrop F5 Freedom Fighter F Meeting Aérien Airshow AIR 14 LSMP Payerne Suisse IMG_3830

[planesawesome]

:US F4 Phantom and Norwegian F5 Freedom Fighter

[sentinelchicken]

This particular jet is a civilian-owned Canadair CF-5D, the license built version of the Northrop F-5B Freedom Fighter. It even still wears its former Canadian camouflage scheme. Officially designated by the Canadian Armed Forces as the CF-116, Canada selected the F-5A/B in 1968 as a tactical support fighter. Compared to the Northrop-built F-5A/B variants, the CF-5s had a two position nose gear that extended further to raise the nose for takeoff and shorten the takeoff run. Orenda license built the GE J85 turbojet engines which were uprated. The CF-5s also had air refueling probes and more sophisticated navigation suite. Most of the two seat CF-5s, designated CF-5D, were used in the lead-in fighter training role and in aggressor training with 419 Squadron at CFB Cold Lake in northern Alberta. The aggressor CF-5Ds wore a camouflage scheme as seen in my photo. The aircraft were retired from CAF service in 1995. | October Aviation Photo Challenge | @kjdphoto1971 | #1017planes | “Training Day” | Day 1 | #Avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KAFW #AFW #AllianceAirport #FWAAS2016 #AllianceAirShow2016 #airport #planespotting #Northrop #F5 #FreedomFighter #Canadair #CF5 #CF116 #instagramaviation #igaviationcontest #Avgeekery #mil_aviation_originals #N805FF #instaaviation #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge (at Fort Worth Alliance Airport)

[clemensv]

#OTD in 1959, Northrop YF-5A (N-156F) Freedom Fighter was unveiled in front of visitors from 40 foreign countries. Visit us and explore the F5 today! https://t.co/fhSx10NtL3 pic.twitter.com/bhqQHVDdy6

— The Museum of Flight (@museumofflight) May 30, 2018

[spockvarietyhour]

A CF-5 from 433 Squadron in Bagotville; QC. flies over Toronto, 1974. The pilot is doing a preview of the high-speed passes its squadron will make in the airshow at the Canadian National Exhibition (TPL Archive)

[spockvarietyhour]

F-5 Freedom Fighter in Bat*21