IRGC Air Force

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Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps

IRGC Military Branches
IRGC Air Force Army Navy Qods Force Basij
Personnel
Senior officers IRGC Ranks Insignia

Parallel to the regular Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF), the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has their own air force. It shares facilities with the IRIAF.

The IRGCAF provides close air support CAS and lift capabilities for the IRGC’s rapid reaction units. The backbone of the IRGCAF consists of ten Su-25 Frogfoot attack aircraft (including seven flown from Iraq to Iran during the 1991 Gulf War, kept airworthy with the help of Georgian technicians) and around forty EMB-312 Tucanos—its main CAS aircraft. The IRGCAF also maintains thirty Y-12 and Dassault Falcon 20 light transports, as well as MFI-17 Mushaqs and Super Mushaqs trainers and locally built Ababil and Mohajer reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

The IRGCAF also operates a sizeable rotary-wing force consisting of around twenty Mi-171 helicopters for transport and armed assault roles, and a large transport force out of Shiraz, equipped with around fifteen ex-Iraqi Il-76s (originally operated by the IRIAF) and twelve An-74T-200 transports. Due to its internal security function, the IRGC puts great importance on rapid deployment and airborne operations and regularly practices the airborne insertion of troops and equipment over relatively long ranges.

Finally, the IRGCAF operates several hundred short- and medium-range mobile ballistic missiles, including the Shahab-3/3B with a range of up to 2,000 kilometers, which is the mainstay of Iran’s strategic deterrent. If Iran ever produces nuclear weapons, the IRGCAF will likely control them.