StormOfTruth
Registered Member
I agree. Internal factors such as IRGC dominance as well as purported Iranian fussiness ( they reportedly rejected F-8s as well as J10 A/Bs in the 2000s) seem to have widely limited their scope but the Russians come with their own problems with latest rumors indicating R77 missiles and EW equipment as being major sticking points.Due to sanctions and/or inter-service rivalry with the IRGC, I don't think the IRIAF had many decent fighter options to leverage, be it twin-engine or single-engine.
Their doctrine is one of necessity, which is to use what they already have, most of which are legacy twin-engine jets. However, it's worth remembering that the IIAF did plan on buying 160+ F-16s.
IMO, if the IRIAF could get the J-10CE, they would do so. The fact that they're not is likely due to a combo of US sanctions (even China has its limits) and the focus on equipping the IRGC with the capacity to carry out cross-border strikes (which, in the old days, the IRIAF would've carried out).
As for China, my opinion is its less about US sanctions but more about the reactions from the Gulf being the inhibiting factor.
My question about the Iranian JF17 claims (aside from all other factors) is why the Thunder and not the J10C instead which comes with more capabilities and less diplomatic baggage?





