As Iran and Iraq fought each other to a stalemate on the ground, the greatest Western and Soviet aircraft of the 1970s fought for dominance in the skies above.

On September 22, 1980, Iraq launched surprise air attacks against Iranian airfields, kicking off the eight-year Iran-Iraq War.

Much of the conflict was reminiscent of World War I, with trench warfare, human wave attacks, and the use of poison gas on both sides. However, unlike the primitive flying machines of the early 20th century, both Iran and Iraq were armed with a capable airfleet of modern fighter jets. Iran entered the conflict with some of America’s most sophisticated export fighters, purchased under the government of the Shah and inherited by the clerical government after it won power in 1979. Iraq, for its part, entered the conflict primarily with Soviet-built aircraft, and as the conflict wore on and it incurred losses, it bought new ones from France. The result was a practical real-world demonstration of US, European, and Soviet aircraft—albeit using tactics and weapons that neither side had envisioned.

Iran’s Air Force: The Best US Planes Money Could Buy

The crown jewel of Iran’s air fleet at the time was the F-14 Tomcat. During the 1970s, the Shah ordered 80 F-14As—79 of which were delivered to Tehran before the revolution. Iran was the only foreign operator of the F-14—and still is today, though it is unclear if any of those aircraft are still operational.

In 1980, when the war began, the F-14 was one of the most advanced fighter jets on Earth, equipped with a powerful AN/AWG-9 radar and long-range AIM-54 Phoenix missiles. A post-revolution spare-parts embargo created serious readiness problems throughout the ensuing eight-year war, but Iran managed to keep the fleet mostly operational. In combat, the F-14 proved capable—tallying dozens kills against Iraqi MiGs, though the exact number of kills is still disputed.

Iran also relied on the F-4 Phantom II as a workhorse fighter. Purchased by the hundreds before the revolution, the F-4 was a twin-engine Mach 2-class fighter-bomber that could carry the AIM-7 Sparrow and AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, US-made bombs, and later Iranian-adapted weapons. Throughout the war, the Iranians used the F-4 for interception, strike, recon, and anti-shipping missions.

Iran’s third major fighter jet was the F-5 Tiger II, a much smaller and cheaper aircraft than the F-14 and F-4. Straightforward and economical, the F-5 was used for ground attack, support, and air defense.

Essentially, the three Iranian fighters of the war covered Tehran’s bases. The F-14 served as the interceptor for BVR work; the F-4 conducted multirole and strike operations; and the F-5 covered lightweight tactical fighter duties, giving the Islamic Republic an effective answer to Iranian ground and air attack.

Iraq’s Air Force Was Closely Tied to Moscow

Iraq, meanwhile, entered the war with Soviet equipment. Throughout most of its post-1958 history, Iraq was loosely aligned with the Soviet Union, as were many other Arab states. The relationship peaked during the early 1970s, when Baghdad openly aligned itself against the West; by the time Saddam Hussein rose to power in 1979, it had weakened somewhat, but was still strong, and Soviet advisors were still present in the country training Iraqi troops. Reliance on Moscow for arms and logistical support was deeply embedded in Iraqi military doctrine, and the Iraqi Air Force at the time had a near-total reliance on Soviet-made aircraft.

The backbone of Iraq’s air campaign against Iran was the MiG-21 Fishbed, a ubiquitous lightweight fighter capable of Mach 2 speeds. It was short-legged but fast and agile and served as a major interceptor during the war. The MiG-23 Flogger was a variable-sweep wing offering better radar and missiles than the MiG-21, thereby offering better BVR capabilities. Iraq also used the MiG-25 Foxbat, a high-speed interceptor capable of speeds of around Mach 2.8, making it a difficult target because of how fast it could fly. Iraq would also acquire the advanced MiG-29 Fulcrum near the war’s end, but it barely influenced the conflict.

When targeting Iranian troops, infrastructure, airfields, and other targets, the Iraqis used the Soviet-made Su-20/22 Fitter fighter-bombers. These variable-sweep wing strike aircraft were optimized for attack rather than air supremacy. Finally, near the end of the war, Iraq began to use the Su-25 Frogfoot, a dedicated ground attack aircraft roughly analogous to the US A-10 Warthog.

Though Iraq continued to rely on Moscow throughout the war, it also began to integrate the French-made Dassault Mirage F1EQ in its later years. The Mirage offered improved radar, BVR capability, and strike capability. This proved particularly important in the maritime campaign, where the jet could employ the AM39 Exocet anti-ship missile—Iraq’s weapon of choice against Iranian tankers during the long-running “Tanker War” between Iran and Iraq in the Persian Gulf.

In essence, the Iran-Iraq War pitted many of the greatest aircraft of the 1970s and 1980s against each other under real-world conditions. The war ended in August 1988 without a decisive victory, but the contest served as a proving ground for an international array of leading aircraft—and its lessons were absorbed by US analysts and studied, paving the way for the overwhelming American victory in Operation Desert Storm less than three years after the end of the war.

About the Author: Harrison Kass

Harrison Kass is a writer and attorney focused on national security, technology, and political culture. His work has appeared in Tablet, City Journal, The Hill, The Spectator, and The Cipher Brief. He holds a JD from the University of Oregon and a master’s in Global & Joint Program Studies from NYU. More at harrisonkass.com.

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