IRNA: Iran reveals underground Oqab 44 air force base

Iran’s Air Force isn’t as powerful as the United States’ or Israel‘s fleets. In a head-to-head matchup, modern Israeli and U.S. fighter jets would make short work of Iran’s older fleet of fighters, some of which were acquired in the 1970s prior to the Iranian Revolution.

So, Iran is taking its air force underground. This week, Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency reported on the unveiling of Iran’s new Oqab 44 base.

Oqab, which means eagle, is said to be Iran’s first underground base large enough to house fighter jets. Last year, Iran revealed it was using underground bases to house drones. It’s unclear, however, if Oqab 44 is a new base or simply an expansion of an existing facility.

PHOTOS#Iran’s Army unveiled its first underground Air Force base, dubbed “Oqab 44” (Eagle 44), which is capable of storing and operating various types of fighter jets, bombers and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). pic.twitter.com/XKrEWQdxmX

— Iran (@Iran) February 7, 2023

Iranian Armed Forces said the planes housed in the base are armed with long-range cruise missiles, which is a bit of an indication of how Iran plans to use the base and the weapons stored there.

By hyping the long-range capabilities, military experts said Iran is signaling it plans to use the older war planes and stand-off weapons to target ground and naval targets at a distance, rather than for air defense capabilities.

“If a country or a place, from surrounding countries or anywhere in the world, is being used as a base to attack Iran, other than the Zionist regime which we are already prepared for, that base will come under our heavy attack,” Major General Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, said.

While the relationship between Iran and the West continues to fray, the Iranian regime and Moscow are growing increasingly close. Iran and Russia recently announced plans to build a drone factory in Russia together. Russia has been using Iranian-made drones in Ukraine to attack both military and civilian targets.

Reuters contributed to this report.