Soviet-Supplied MiG-29s Guard Iran’s Capital: Could They Repel an Israeli Air Attack?

<p >As a longstanding adversary of the United States and the wider Western Bloc, Iran’s airspace has for years faced some of the greatest threats of enemy incursions, whether in the 2000s when the United States and its allies came close to launching strikes on its nuclear facilities, to 2024 when Israeli officials repeatedly threatened to initiate attacks on the country. Although Iran relies primarily on its <a href=" target="_blank">ground based air defences </a>to defend against such action, as well as the deterrent capabilities of its <a href=" target="_blank">drone</a> and <a href=" target="_blank">ballistic missile arsenals</a> able to launch massive retaliation, the country also deploys 17 squadrons of fighter aircraft which provide secondary air to air and strike capabilities. As one of the more modern and capable fighters in the Iranian fleet, the defence of the capital Tehran is allocated to two squadrons of Soviet-built MiG-29 fighters – with the units between them estimated to deploy 35 aircraft. The capabilities of these aircraft has significant implications for the Iranian Air Force’s ability to defend the city at a time of high regional tensions.  </p><p ><img src=" title="Iranian Air Force MiG-29 in Tehran" ></p><p >Following the death of Iran’s vehemently anti-Soviet Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989, a rapid improvement in Soviet-Iranian relations saw the Islamic Republic quickly emerge as a leading client for Soviet military equipment. The relationship progressed rapidly in its first two years, with Iran acquiring both of its MiG-29 squadrons and a squadron of Su-24M strike fighters. The MiG-29 had joined the Soviet Air Force in 1982, and alongside exports across the Warsaw Pact the class was supplied to Yugoslavia, India, North Korea, Cuba, Iraq and Syria. The advanced MiG aircraft was produced on a massive scale of over 100 aircraft per year, allowing the USSR to quickly fulfil new orders while rapidly replacing its own older frontline fighters with the new aircraft. The MiG-29 was a medium weight fighter from the same weight range as the American F-18 Hornet – larger than an F-16 but smaller than an F-15. The fighter had a far superior flight performance to any Western fighter, as well as a particularly impressive makeshift airfield performance allowing it to deploy away from major air bases. Its most outstanding feature was the integration of the R-73 air to air missile, which facilitated high off boresight targeting at visual ranges and in testing in the 1990s proved to provide an overwhelming advantage over Western fighters.</p><p ><img src=" title="Iranian Air Force F-5 (front) and MiG-29"></p><p >While the MiG-29 in the early 1990s provided Iran with a cutting edge fighter capable of seriously challenging the best of its adversaries’ fleets, the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991 not only <a href=" target="_blank">prevented further acquisitions</a>, but also denied Iran access either to <a href=" target="_blank">more advanced new variants</a> of the fighter or to higher end Russian combat jets such as the <a href=" target="_blank">MiG-31 interceptor </a>and <a href=" target="_blank">Su-27 fighter</a>. Unlike the Soviet Union, which had from 1991 begun to market its most capable new combat aircraft to Iran, post-Soviet Russia consistently proved to be highly sensitive to Western pressure, with Soviet era<a href=" target="_blank"> arms deals cut short </a>accordingly while new deals made were consistently pulled out of. Thus while Iran was expected to acquire MiG-29s on a large scale in the 1990s to form the new mainstay of its fleet, this never materialised. Although modern variants of the MiG-29 such as the MiG-29M and MiG-29UPG retain somewhat formidable capabilities, Iran has not acquired any of these and has made only conservative efforts to modernise its aircraft domestically. </p><p ><img src=" title="Israeli Air Force F-15s with Cold War Era AIM-7 and AIM-9 Missiles"></p><p >Iran’s MiG-29s are today among the most capable fighters in its fleet, but are overwhelmingly outmatched by the top fighters fielded by its adversaries such as <a href=" target="_blank">U.S. and Israeli F-35s</a>. Although the MiGs still have superior flight performances to those in the West, their weaponry and avionics are near obsolete today. Nevertheless, the fighters can play important roles in supporting local air defences, with their presence forcing potential attackers to allocate portions of their fighter fleets to air to air operations to escort potential bombing operations. It is notable that Israel’s F-15 fleet is similarly obsolete to Iran’s MiG-29s, and continues to rely on Cold War era avionics and AIM-7 air to air missiles that are even older and less capable than Iranian MiGs’ Soviet supplied R-27 missiles. With the F-15 being the only Israeli fighter class that can operate deep inside Iran without aerial refuelling, the age of the aircraft could be a factor that allows Iran’s MiGs to be genuinely formidable in air defence operations. The fact that Iran’s MiG-29s have high off boresight targeting capabilities provided by R-73 missiles – a capability which many Western fighters lack today including the U.S. Air Force’s F-22s and all Israeli F-15s – is a particularly important factor in their favour. This is notably a capability which Iraqi and Yugoslav MiG-29s which Western air fleets previously fought against notably lacked. While the standing of Iran’s manned fighter fleet remains limited even within the wider Middle East, the MiG-29 continues to provide air to air capabilities far superior to most aircraft in its fleet and rivalled only by those of its <a href=" target="_blank">U.S.-supplied F-14s</a>.</p>