[GoldenRivet]

Originally Posted by Max2147

In terms of aircraft for air defense, Iran has a pretty interesting mix of planes:

They've got the MiG 29: http://www.airliners.net/photo/Iran---Air/Mikoyan-Gurevich-MiG-29A-(9-12A)/1494589/M/

They've got the F-14's left over from the Shah's days. They're still flying, but I don't know if they're combat capable: http://www.airliners.net/photo/Iran-...cat/1494015/M/

Also from the Shah's days, the F-4 Phantom is still flying: http://www.airliners.net/photo/Iran-...-4E/1486518/M/

They've also got some planes that fled Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War. Here's a Mirage F1: http://www.airliners.net/photo/Iran-...1BQ/1345290/L/

And here's an Il-76 AWACS plane: http://www.airliners.net/photo/Iran-...nan/1345546/L/

Then there's the really interesting native modifications of American designs. First, a twin-tailed derivative of the F-5... in Blue Angels colors?: http://www.airliners.net/photo/Iran-...ghe/1272144/L/

And to cap it all off, a 747 air refueling tanker! Maybe they could use this for the KC-45 : http://www.airliners.net/photo/Iran---Air/Boeing-747-131(SF)/1487680/M/

well, considering parts are very hard to get in Iran for those things.

given they could be reverse engineered i suppose... but i would put any single U.S. or Royal Eagle Driver up against 3 of Iranians best pilots any day of the week.

in the end it is the man... not the machine that wins the fight.