Summary

• The Russian Air Force plans to provide Iran with Su-35 jets and defense technology to modernize air force capabilities.
• Iran disputes claims of Su-35 acquisition, suggesting conflicting reports about the delivery of fighter jets and spare parts.
• A comparison of the aging IRIAF fleet to the Su-35 highlights the significant leap in capabilities and technology offered by the new aircraft.

Not to sound paranoid, but this writer cannot help but wonder if intelligence officers and public affairs officers of the Russian Air Force (Военно-воздушные силы России/Voenno-vozdushnye sily Rossii, VVS) and Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF; نیروی هوایی ارتش جمهوری اسلامی ایران/ Nirvi-ye Hevayi-ye Artesh-e Jimhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye Iran) alike have been loyally and enthusiastically following his Simple Flying page.

Yours Truly’s Simple Flying article titled “A Closer Look At Iranian Air Force Capabilities”—which discussed the obsolescence of the IRIAF airframes—was published on April 15, 2024. Just a day or two later, news stories came out revealing Russia’s plans to provide Sukhoi Su-35 jets to Iran. This would be a major boost to the IRIAF combat fleet in terms of newness in general and 4th-generation capabilities in particular. We shall now examine how close this Su-35 transfer prospect is to becoming a reality.

.

The basics

The day after our article on the IRIAF combat jets was published, Aero-News Journal ran a piece stating that the Russian Federation had pledged to furnish Iran with not only more advanced fighter jets but also more advanced air-defense technology for good measure. The report stated,

“In a move that is likely to heighten regional tensions, Russia appears poised to deliver advanced military equipment to Iran. This arms deal, reportedly finalized in November 2023, includes Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets, Mi-28 attack helicopters, and potentially the S-400 air defense system.”

Iran disputes the story

According to an April 21 report by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), the Iranian government is disputing that report. That is slightly surprising, as one might logically think that the upcoming acquisition would be a major source of propaganda points and bragging rights, especially in their efforts to intimidate Israel and Saudi Arabia (not to mention other regional allies to the West like the United Arab Emirates).

As noted in the report,

“Reports in the Iranian media that the country is to receive the latest generation of aircraft in the next few days are incorrect, according to the Fararu news website. The media had referred to a report by the SNN news agency, which is close to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The agency itself denied the report on its Telegram page after consulting with the Defense Ministry, which last year announced that Iran had acquired Mi-28H combat helicopters and Yak-130s from Russia in addition to the SU-35 fighter jets.”

A Jerusalem Post article published on the same day as the RFE/RL report piggybacked onto the story by noting that the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida had reported the previous week that Iran had indeed already received some of the Su-35s roughly a year prior but was unable to operate them due to a dearth of spare parts.

Evidently, the Iranian military establishment and media alike are afflicted with a case of the proverbial left hand not doing what the right hand is doing. Speaking of the Jerusalem Post, not surprisingly, they’re having a field day with this Iranian discombobulation, as evidenced by a February 25, 2024 op-ed by Seth J. Frantzman, who opined that Iran’s decision to purchase these fighter jets might actually be a “more a sign of weakness than a real game-changer.”

Mr. Frantzman’s rationale is that the IRIAF’s acquisition of the Su-35s is a token gesture, too piecemeal and too little, too late. He cites insufficient time and monetary investment to train and mold the would-be IRIAF Su-35 pilots into a truly cohesive fighting unit.

Quick review: age of the current IRIAF fighter fleet

For the sake of brevity, we’re not going to rehash all of the technical specs of the current IRIAF fleet here and now. However, to give our readers a sense of perspective of the age of those airframes vis-à-vis the Su-35, here’s a handy-dandy laundry list of the maiden flight years of each combat aircraft (fighters, interceptors, multirole, and ground attack alike) currently in service with the Iranian regime:

• McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II: 1958
• Grumman F-14 Tomcat: 1970
• F-5E Freedom Fighter AKA Tiger II: 1972
• Dassault F1 Mirage: 1966
• Mikoyan MiG-29 “Fulcrum”: 1977
• Sukhoi Su-24 “Fencer”: 1974
• Chengdu J-7/F-7 “Fishcan”: 1966

Learn more about one of the IRIAF's non-combat aircraft.

Pretty simple math here: the "newest" (relatively speaking) warplane on that list is 47 years old, and the eldest of the bunch is 66 years of age (in other words, if the F-4 were a flesh-and-blood American human, she would be old enough to collect Social Security benefits).

So then, what does the Su-35 have to offer in comparison to these older, worn-down warbirds?

Sukhoi Su-35 early history and specifications

By contrast, the Sukhoi Su-35 (NATO reporting name: Flanker-E) made her maiden flight on February 19, 2008, and was officially introduced into operational service with the Russian Federation in February 2014. The “Flanker-E” name bestowed by NATO is because this warbird is a derivative of, and improvement upon, the original “Flanker,” i.e., the Su-27, which made her own debut in June 1988.

In other words, it is still most likely easy picking for a properly trained F-22 Raptor or F-35 Lightning II driver, but it is still way fresher on the scene than the current IRIAF makes and models.

Technical specs on the Flanker-E (courtesy of Military Machine) include:

• Fuselage length: 72 feet 9 inches (22.17 m)
• Height: 22 feet 5 inches (6.83 m)
• Wingspan: 49 feet 9 inches (15.16 m)
• Ceiling: 59,050 feet (17,944 m)
• Maximum Takeoff Weight: 74,956 lb. (3,399.7 kg)
• Combat Range: 2,237 miles (3,600.1 km)
• Engine: Two Lyulka AL-31FM afterburning turbofans, 30,855 lb (13,996 kg) thrust each
• Crew: One
• Armament: One GSh-30-1 30mm cannon with 150 rounds, plus up to 17,636 lbs. (7,999.6 kg) payload on eleven external hardpoints