IRIAF Saeghe

84 www.airforcesmonthly.comJUNE 2015 #327

Iran converted a handful of Iranian F-5E and Azarakhsh (Lightning) fighters to become Saeghes (Thunderbolts) between 2001 and 2015. They are now in operational service with the IRIAF at the 2nd Tactical Fighter Base (TFB 2) in Tabriz.While IRIAF and Iranian

defence ministry officials have always claimed the Saeghe is the result of entirely indigenous manufacture, the truth behind the story is very different.

BackgroundIn the early 1990s the Owj Industrial Complex was working on the Azarakhsh programme and SR.II. The former referred to F-5Es that were restored or had their airframes manufactured by Owj, while the SR.II

IransStorm Wa rning

Main image: Saeghe 3-7368 lifts off from Tactical Air Base (TAB) 2 at Tabriz on April 6. All six aircraft of the 23rd Tacti-cal Fighter Squadron (TFS) now wear a modifi ed Asia Minor II camoufl age. The aircraft were painted prior to fl ying a fi ve-ship formation at Irans Military Day parade on April 18. Bagher ZarifAbove: The fi fth production Saeghe, 3-7370, taxies towards the main runway at Shahin Shar Airport during its handover ceremony. The aircraft delivered to the 23rd TFS is still wearing this blue and yellow paint scheme. Amir Naderi

AIRCRAFT PROFILE IRIAF Saeghe (Thunderbolt)

85www.airforcesdaily.com #327 JUNE 2015

was a Sino-Iranian design intended to modernise the F-5E. At the same time, Owj began studies for an F-5E aerodynamic upgrade programme. Meanwhile two of Irans most

accomplished aerospace engineers, including Yaghoub Entesari, were working on the Ya-Hossein project to produce an advanced jet trainer. The pair then began research studies for the F-5E aerodynamic upgrade consisting of changes to the flying surfaces of the single-seat version: the most significant was the introduction of a twin vertical stabiliser. Experts and engineers from

the IRIAFs Sattari Air University helped Owj to design a new flight control system for the programme in a scheme later named Saeghe-80 the research

and development phase for which had begun by the mid-1990s.The project made only slow

progress in the 1990s. Based on original plans, it was expected that it would be completed before 2001, but due to poor management and a lack of basic equipment, such as a wind tunnel, it suffered delays. A design team of eight young engineers and students were meanwhile working alongside the two highly experienced aerospace engineers.Because of the IRIAFs inability

to procure aerospace alloys from outside Iran, the Defence Industries Organisation was tasked to provide Owj with the required materials. Additional components were designed and manufactured with the

help of private contractors.The IRIAFs Deputy of Operations

granted permission for Owj to use an operational F-5E Azarakhsh, serial 3-7301 (later 3-7366), to assist the design. Beyond the changes made to the vertical stabiliser, Owj installed squared engine air intakes in place of the original curved type and designed a new radome which led to removal of the original pitot tube. As a consequence of the

aerodynamic changes, it was necessary to remove the wingtip missile launchers and to increase its g-limits, the aircrafts weight was reduced as much as possible by removing the AN/APQ-153 fire control system, the arrester hook, one of the two M39 cannon, the IFF and TACAN.

First flightAfter more than 18 months of modifications, the Saeghe was prepared for ground tests. It was painted light blue overall and an Iranian flag was applied on the nose section. A slogan appeared on the aft section, based on Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khameneis slogan We Can.With ground tests complete,

the test pilot prepared for a maiden flight after performing at least ten fast taxies on runway 29L of Mehrabad International Airport. Finally, once the flight control systems had been properly calibrated, the first flight was made at TFB 1 Mehrabad on February 7, 2004. A chase plane (Azarakhsh

serial 3-7302) accompanied the

The Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) is the operator of a unique version of the Northrop F-5 Tiger II, the Saeghe (Thunderbolt), externally distinguished by its twin tailfins. Babak Taghvaee sheds light on the second life of the F-5 in Iranian service. Storm Wa rning

Only ex-Vietnamese and several battle-damaged F-5Es were available for the Owj plan


Saeghe during its 20-minute first flight. Several months later it had logged around six hours of flight and left Tehran for the first time during a navigation training sortie. The Saeghe was flown to TFB 3

Noujeh (Shahrokhi) where it was unveiled for Supreme Leader Khamenei. After a test flight at TFB 3 the jet was revealed by state news media in June 2004. By now it had the serial number S 110-001 (Seyyed Ali-001, a reference to the name of the Supreme Leader).

An inefficient upgradeAfter several months, operational testing revealed that the changes to S 110-001s nose and air intakes actually had adverse effects on the manoeuvrability, flight characteristics and performance.Similar to the SR.II project, in

2004, Owj was tasked to prepare the second and third Saeghes. Two F-5Es, serials 3-7302 and 3-7060 (c/n U1048), were allocated to the programme. Unlike the first, these two jets aerodynamic surfaces were not altered. They received the new serials S 110-002 and S 110-003, and both took their maiden flights in June 2007.After several months of test

flights they were unveiled to public two days before the Holy Defence Week parade on September 20, 2007. Two-seat F-5F, serial 3-7174, of the 21st Tactical Fighter Squadron (TFS) served as chase plane during their test flights that summer. Following the poor results of the

aerodynamic modifications made to S 110-001, the second and third Saeghes only received the two vertical stabilisers. All three aircraft were eventually painted in colours inspired by the US Navys

Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron before their official unveiling and participation in the Holy Defence Week parade on September 22, 2007.The IRIAF had conducted an

exercise named Zarbat-e-Zulfiqar (Strike of the Zulfiqar, after the sword of Ali, first Imam of the Shiites) in September 2006 during which four F-5Es and two F-5Fs of the 21st TFS performed dozens of rocket and bombing missions using live and inert weapons. The first Saeghe, S 110-001, flew four gunnery training sorties in the exercise and also attacked dummy targets on the Shabestar gunnery range using 76 2.75-inch (70mm) rockets and four Mk 82 bombs.

One of three Saeghes detached to IMAI airfi eld at Shahin Shahr in early 2009, 3-7368 was brought up to full mission capability while conducting training fl ights from the base. All images Babak Taghvaee unless stated

Above: Brigadier General Barkhor (right), Brigadier Hatami, acting secretary of the defence ministry (centre), and the designer of the Saeghe II unveil the aircraft to the public at Mehrabad International Airport on February 9. Below: The only Saeghe II produced so far, 3-7182 wears the markings of Tacti-cal Air Base (TAB) 2 at Tabriz-Shaheed Fakouri on its fi n. The trainer serves alongside the single-seat Saeghe I of the 23rd TFS at Tabriz.

Without a twin-seat version of the Saeghe, the training of future pilots will be costly and diffi cult



Throughout its sorties, the Saeghe was chased by F-5F 3-7167 of the 21st TFS. It also helped the Saeghe locate Tabriz air base and the Shabestar gunnery range, since its AN/ARN-84(V) TACAN has still not been installed.

A new manufacturerUnder the order of the Supreme Leader, Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial (IAMI) Company (HESA) continued both the Azarakhsh and Saeghe projects, and all the engineers and experts from the Saeghe design bureau were assigned to IAMI in spring 2006. At the time, the IRIAFs test pilot school was still cooperating with Owj, and S 110-002 and S 110-003 were still under construction.

In 2003, Owj began work on the third Azarakhsh, the previous two having been delivered in 1998 and 2001. This was former Vietnam Peoples Air Force F-5E 73-00873 (c/n R.1054). Owj began the process of reproducing several structural parts for the aircraft and after several months and still incomplete it was handed over to IAMI (HESA) on August 10, 2006. The aircraft was then completed

with the assistance of engineers from Owj. It took its maiden flight in June 2007 and was unveiled to the public on August 6. The new serial number of the third Azarakhsh was 3-7364. Aeronautical engineer Hassan

Parvaneh, a supervisor on the Azarakhsh and then the Saeghe

project at IAMI, produced a fake image of 3-7364 using Adobe Photoshop software on his own computer. In the rendering, the wings and intakes were modified, making it appear similar to the F/A-18 Hornet. The doctored photo was then provided to the Fars News agency and appeared on the internet, where it was described as depicting an Azarakhsh. Parvanehs intentions are not known, but his excuse was that he hoped to deceive Western intelligence services.In September 2007, IAMI sent

3-7364 to Tehran for the Holy Defence Week parade, together with two SR.IIs, two F-5Fs and three Saeghes. Project Saeghe was handed over to IAMI in its entirety

Left: Waiting for an F-5F to depart Meh-rabads main taxiway, Saeghe 3-7370 illustrates the clean wing design, devoid of the usual wing-tip missile rails. Mounted on the centreline is a drop tank borrowed from the 21st TFS. Right: With the handover of the fi fth Saeghe at Shahin Shahr Airport on October 10, 2009 the four earlier examples completed a fl ypast to celebrate the occasion. Amir NaderiBelow: Seconds from touching down at Mehrabad International Airport, Saeghe 3-7371, illustrates the dual angel-of-at-tack sensors; twin UHF/IFF and TACAN antennas on the upper fuselage.

in late 2007, in accordance with Khameneis order and in line with an agreement between the defence ministry and the IRIAF. Construction of a fourth Saeghe

began in August 2008 and was completed in February 2009. Aircraft 3-7364 served as the basis for this jet before receiving the new serial 3-7369. In April 2008 the serial numbers of three previous Saeghes were changed to 3-7366, 3-7367 and 3-7368 respectively.The fifth and sixth Saeghes

were manufactured in 2009 and 2010 using stripped-down cannibalised F-5E fuselages supplied by Owj. The fifth, serial 3-7370, was delivered to the IRIAF at a ceremony at Shahin


Shahr Airport on October 10, 2009. Delivery of the sixth was delayed, however, due to US sanctions that reduced the availability of J85-GE-21 engines and spare parts. Finally, after three years,

the sixth Saeghe, serial 3-7371, was delivered to the IRIAF in October 2012.

In service with the 23rd TFSBetween January and March 2009, Owj detached the first three Saeghes to the IAMI airfield at Shahin Shahr, where two 3-7367 and 3-7368 were brought up to fully mission capable (FMC) condition and performed training flights at the base. Meanwhile, the fourth Saeghe, 3-7369, conducted its test flights there too. In April 2009 all four Saeghes

were sent to Tehran to participate in Irans Military Day parade on April 18 but, after the event was cancelled due to bad

weather, they were detached two days later to TFB 2 and put in service by the 21st TFS. Several weeks later the

IRIAFs deputy of operations re-established the 23rd TFS as the Saeghe operator, the fifth and sixth aircraft joining the squadron in 2009 and 2012 respectively.With the exception of the first

Saeghe, 3-7366, the fighters were now combat-ready and began participating in the IRIAFs annual air exercises and gunnery training.

A reconfigured 3-7366With the inefficiency of the aerodynamic modifications of the first Saeghe soon realised, they were not repeated during production of the subsequent examples. In 2011 the IRIAF headquarters tasked Owj to modify the first one, 3-7366, by returning it to its original configuration and installing a new boat tail with the latest standard of twin vertical stabilisers. TFB 2

sent the aircraft to the Owj facility for its intake and nose section to be converted to their original shape. The work was completed

in August 2013, and the ARN-84 TACAN system finally reinstalled, enabling pilots to fly unaccompanied. In common with the other five Saeghes, a further TACAN and UHF/IFF antennas were installed above the fuselage just behind the canopy. Installation of the new vertical

stabilisers and subsequently the control system required dozens of test flights prior to handover to the squadron. With no calibration system at Owj, the test pilot was responsible for checking the rudders functionality. During test flights, 3-7154, an

F-5F from the 41st TFS, served as chase plane, observing the functionality of the rudders and elevators. Finally, after seven test flights at Mehrabad International Airport in the space of two weeks,

the fighter was redelivered to the 23rd TFS on August 30, 2013.

Project 90When studies for the Saeghe-80 project began in the late 1990s, only ex-Vietnamese and several battle-damaged F-5Es were available for the Owj plan. Since it was impossible to procure additional F-5E/Fs from outside Iran, the IRIAFs Deputy of Operations refused to allow Owj to use airworthy F-5s for its projects, so the venture focused exclusively on converting stripped-down F-5Es to Saeghe standard.The first, second and third

Saeghes-80s were produced by Owj, and their test flights were performed by five of its seven test pilots, who had been trained in the Owj test pilot school.In December 2006, on the

orders of Ayatollah Khamenei, research and development for all Owj industrial projects, including

Above: Saeghes (left-to-right) 3-7369, 3-7367, 3-7368 and 3-7366 line up at Tehrans Mehrabad International Airport on April 20, 2009 for the fl ight to their new home at TAB 2 at Tabriz-Shaheed Fakouri.



Thunderbolts on exerciseThe IRIAF conducted an exercise called Modafeane Harime Velayat (Defenders of Velayats Territory) at TFB 2 between October 17 and 22, 2008. Three Saeghes from TFB 1 were among the participants, their pilots practising rocketry and bombing at the Shabestar gunnery range. For the rst time all three Saeghes ew from Tehran and Tabriz, using the ARN-84 TACAN system installed in the lead aircraft.The following year saw exercise Mi-

lade Noore Velayat (Birth of the Light of Velayat) between June 23 and 26, when once again three Saeghes (3-7366, 3-7367 and 3-7368) took part. They were forward-deployed to TFB 10 at Konarak for the event. In the rst phase of the exercise,

the pilots practised using dummy Mk 83 bombs and Zuni train-ing rockets against the target. In the second phase they practised low-level bombing with Mk 82SE retarded bombs. Owing to the

inferior work of the TFB 2 weapon o cers, the retarded bombs ns failed to activate, causing the weap-ons to explode under the aircraft. This led to the crash of an F-5F and damaged the skin of a Saeghe ying as wingman. In September 2011 the IRIAFs

conducted another exercise at TFB 2 Modafeane Harime Velayat-3. Seven tactical ghter bases detached aircraft to participate. Four Saeghes of the 23rd TFS were among the 45 ghters involved in the exercise, which ran from the 11th to the 15th of the month. Exercise Modafeane Harime

Velayat-4 began at TFB 9 Bandar Abbas on December 18, 2013, with maritime attack training as its primary objective. During the exer-cise TFB 2 deployed three Saeghes (3-7366, 3-7369 and 3-7370), two F-5Fs (3-7167 and 3-7169) and an F-5E (3-7334) to TFB 9, which lasted until December 21.

Instead of meeting the needs of the IRIAF, the Saeghe project is propagandistic and does not represent a signifi cant improvement in the performance and combat capabilities of the air forces F-5E/Fs

Azarakhsh, SR.II and Saeghe 80, became the responsibility of IAMI (HESA). Subsequently, the Owj test pilot school was disbanded and its single remaining Beechcraft Bonanza was handed over the IRIAFs Primary Flight Training School at Kushk-Nosrat.Between 2007 and 2009, two

of the five Saeghe test pilots were promoted to higher ranks and became officers of the IRIAFs HQ, leaving just three. In 2008, two F-5E test pilots from TFB 2 qualified to fly the Saeghe in Tehran and then at Shahin-Shahr increasing the number to five once more. Without a twin-seat version of the Saeghe, the training of future pilots will be costly and difficult. When the first Saeghe squadron

was formed in 2009, the IRIAF HQ became aware of the necessity of a training version of the aircraft. The flying characteristics of the Saeghe-80 are similar to its predecessor, the F-5E, but several

elements demand much greater pilot attention. In particular, they must be aware of the effects of the control surfaces on the aircrafts movement around its longitudinal axis (roll axis), especially banking at low speed.In late 2009, the IRIAFs Owj

Complex defined a project named Saeghe-90, later named Saeghe II, which involved the installation of the Saeghes twin vertical stabilisers on the two-seat F-5F.

Saeghe II is bornIAMI/HESAs Saeghe design bureau, which now consisted of former engineers from Owj as well as new staff, completed the design of the Saeghe-90 project in 2011. Now they needed an F-5F airframe to develop the idea.While the IRIAFs HQ had

scheduled mass conversion of the IRIAFs F-5Es to Saeghe standard to begin in 2016, there were no F-5Fs available except for an

Above: Twin-seat Saeghe 3-7182 pictured during the unveiling ceremony in the northwest corner of Mehrabads International Airport, Tehran. The aircraft wore a 23rd TFS camoufl age scheme for the occasion. Reza AlaviLeft: A pair of Saeghes release Mk 82 Snake Eye retarded bombs over Shabe-star gunnery range as part of Exercise Modafean Harim-E Velayat in 2011.

Above: Armed with a dummy AIM-9J Sidewinder, a rocket pod and an Mk 82 bomb, 3-7369 was a former Vietnamese F-5E that was repaired by Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company, only to be modifi ed further into Saeghe 3-7369. Left: Still in their zinc chromate fi nish, the twin tails of 3-7366 are shown off to good effect as the Saeghe is towed towards the paint shop of the 11th TFS in August 2013.


airframe in storage with Owj.The jet, 3-7180 (c/n Z1027),

formerly of TFB 4 at Vahdati, had suffered an accident on October 21, 2000 when, during an engine run-up, one of the technicians mistakenly jettisoned the cockpit canopies. The aircrafts boat tail and vertical and horizontal stabilisers were damaged by the falling canopies. The F-5F was then withdrawn from service and cannibalised for spares: after three years no valuable parts were left on the airframe.In 2005, it was handed over

to Owj for restoration and the airframe structure and skin were repaired. But the lack of some vital parts, including the ejection seats which had been destroyed in the accident, meant the F-5F was left in storage. IAMI experts spent two years

working on the main airframe. Several hundred metres of wiring were replaced and new parts smuggled into Iran, including avionic components, installed. Meanwhile the new V-shape tail section with its twin vertical stabilisers was designed and installed.Several new NAVAIDS such as

ILS and TACAN were installed alongside the old ARN-84 TACAN system. Two Russian-made K-36LT ejection seats were installed similar to those used in the F-5B Simorgh (Phoenix), a conversion of the F-5A and RF-5A to F-5B standard at IAMI/HESA along with a new secure UHF radio assembled by Iranian Electronic Industries. Apart from these new features, no changes were made to the aircrafts systems.

Maiden flightAfter a years delay caused by difficulties in providing the required spare parts in the face of sanctions, the Saeghe II was finally prepared

for ground tests at the IAMI facility in Shahin-Shahr in December 2014. Following test flights in January and February 2015 the aircraft was prepared for delivery.It was finally flown to Mehrabad

for an unveiling ceremony on February 5, 2015. Painted in the full Asian Minor II colour scheme and wearing the serial 3-7182, the Saeghe II was presented to the public at a ceremony at Mehrabad four days later. During the event Brigadier Hatami, Acting Secretary of the Iranian Ministry of

Defence, Brigadier General Alireza Barkhor, the deputy commander of the IRIAF, and Brigadier Manuchehr Manteghi, CEO of the Iranian Aviation Industries Organisation, spoke to the media about their achievement.

A positive future?After the IRIAF realised the twin vertical stabilisers of the Saeghe did not significantly improve the aircrafts flight characteristics, it decided to limit the concept to one squadron consisting of 12 F-5E

Saeghes, now complemented by the single F-5F Saeghe II.In 2007 the defence ministry

and its IAMI/HESA company were contracted to develop a new avionics upgrade package for the IRIAFs F-5E/F fleet. However, only three more of the

original avionics packages were acquired, and the programme ground to a halt. Instead, IAMI began work on the Sino-Iranian SR.II project, which was subsequently cancelled by the IRIAF HQ in 2006 or 2007.Instead of meeting the needs

of the IRIAF, the Saeghe project is propagandistic and does not represent a significant improvement in the performance and combat capabilities of the air forces F-5E/Fs. As such, the IRIAF has no intention to deliver additional airworthy and operational F-5E/Fs to IAMI for modification.Now, just 13 F-5Fs from a

total of 28 delivered under the Peace Rush III Foreign Military Sale programme are still operational with the IRIAF. It is not clear whether it will risk

modifying them under the Saeghe II venture.

Above: Surprisingly the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force based the Saeghes early blue and yellow colour scheme on that of the US Navys Blue Angels display team. Zare Zadeh

The fi rst Saeghe built, S.110-001, was fi tted with an inverted F-5B nose cone, in order to test airframe aerodynamics. The prototype takes off from runway 29L during the programmes unveiling ceremony on September 20, 2007. Amir Naderi

afm

Saeghe In ServiceVersion Serial No. Code C/N Delivery Note

Saeghe 3-7366 S.110-001 n/a Jun 2014 Former Azarakhsh 3-7301

Saeghe 3-7367 S.110-002 n/a 20 Sep 2007 Former Azarakhsh 3-7302

Saeghe 3-7368 S.110-003 U.1048 20 Sep 2007 Formerly the 3-7060

Saeghe 3-7369 - n/a Feb 2009 Former Vietnamese F-5E

Saeghe 3-7370 - n/a 10 Oct 2010

Saeghe 3-7371 - n/a Oct 2012

Saeghe-II 3-7182 - Z.1027 9 Feb 2015 Formerly the 3-7180


Documents

IRIAF Saeghe