Iran has continued launching ballistic missiles toward Israel during the war, but its aging air force has played little role in the fighting, allowing the IDF to establish air superiority over Tehran within a short time.
A report by The Wall Street Journal described how Iranian aircraft — many of them decades old — are being systematically destroyed by Israeli and U.S. strikes, often while still on the ground.
F-35 stealth fighter shoots down a Yak-130 jet
(Video: IDF)
The only Iranian aircraft shot down in the war so far was a Yak-130, a training jet that was downed by an F-35 stealth fighter, according to the IDF. The Yak-130 is one of the newest aircraft in Iran’s fleet, purchased in 2023, but it is primarily designed as a trainer and flies at roughly half the speed of the F-35.
Many other aircraft have been destroyed in airstrikes at military airfields.
According to the report, the IDF struck F-14 Tomcat fighters at an air base in Isfahan, while two Russian-made Su-24 fighter-bombers were destroyed on the ground at an air base in Shiraz, along with other aircraft.
The air force also targeted F-5 fighters and F-4 Phantom jets that were preparing for takeoff at Tabriz in western Iran.
In Tehran, more than 16 transport aircraft belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force were destroyed, the IDF said.
U.S. forces have also struck Iranian aircraft, and Qatar intercepted two Su-24 jets that approached the Persian Gulf, according to the report.
The Wall Street Journal noted that many Iranian aircraft are so old they resemble “museum pieces,” kept operational only through improvised spare parts and maintenance.
Several aircraft types still in use date back decades. The Su-24, a Russian tactical bomber, entered service in the early 1970s and has not been produced for more than 30 years. The F-4 Phantom, originally introduced in the early 1960s, has not been manufactured for nearly half a century. The F-5 fighter, whose first flight was in 1959, is of a similar era.
Russian-made fighter jets burning in Tehran
None of Iran’s aircraft have stealth capabilities, making them far more vulnerable against modern fighters such as the F-35.
Iran’s fleet has also suffered frequent crashes during training flights even before the war. Last month, an F-4 crashed during a night training exercise in western Iran’s Hamedan province, killing one of the pilots. Iranian authorities attributed the accident to a mechanical malfunction.
Former Russian air force officer Gleb Irisov told The Wall Street Journal that in 2020, while flying in a military transport plane over Iran en route to Syria, he was surprised when two Iranian Phantom jets approached the aircraft.
“I was shocked to see such an old model,” Irisov said. “It was like a ghost from the past.”
Iran acquired many of its aircraft before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, including the Phantom and F-5 fighters purchased from the United States in the 1960s and 1970s.
Additional aircraft entered the fleet during the Iran-Iraq war when Iraqi pilots defected to Iran, bringing with them French Mirage F-1 jets and Russian Su-22 aircraft.
Decades of international sanctions have prevented Tehran from purchasing new aircraft or spare parts for much of its fleet.
Russia has discussed selling modern Su-35 fighter jets to Iran for years, but despite repeated Iranian statements that the deal was close, the sale has not materialized.
As a result, Iran has been left with a relatively small and aging fleet. As of 2025, Tehran operated about 218 fighter aircraft, compared with 278 operated by Israel, according to the report. The gap in technological capability is significantly larger than the difference in numbers.
To keep aircraft operational, Iranian intermediaries have attempted to acquire spare parts on the international market. Iranian businessmen told The Wall Street Journal they have tried to buy components from used Boeing and Airbus aircraft but often struggle to find sellers due to U.S. banking restrictions.
US strikes against the Iranian Air Force
(Video: X)
Iran’s helicopter fleet is also aging. One military helicopter recently crashed into market stalls near Isfahan, killing the pilot, co-pilot and two vendors. The aircraft was an AH-1 Super Cobra attack helicopter purchased from the United States in 1971.
In 2024, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was killed in another helicopter crash involving a Bell 212, a model first produced in 1968. Iranian media reported mechanical failure in both cases.
Iran has attempted over the years to reverse-engineer and upgrade aircraft or develop domestic fighters, but analysts say the country has lacked the financial resources and technological capacity to do so effectively.
Those limitations pushed Tehran to invest heavily in alternative weapons systems — particularly ballistic missiles and drones — to compensate for its weak air force.
But analysts told The Wall Street Journal that the recent conflict has exposed the limits of that strategy.
Saeid Golkar, an Iran expert, said the regime’s mistake was believing that missile programs could replace the need for a strong air force.
“The regime’s naivety,” Golkar said, “was believing missile programs could compensate for the lack of a capable air force.”