Iranian Air Force (IRIAF/IRGC-ASF) | News and Discussions

[Immortals]

Israel have f-35 so that's mute

You say wrong info, I correct you and then you said it doesn’t matter and change the topic.

. i was talking about technical aspect of it by the way its right Israel f-16 don't have the APG-83 but they come with APG-68(v9) which is the next best thing for f-16 with around 300km of range for large aircraft .

And SU-35’s will be inside or near Iranian border and have benefit of data link to other Russian radars inside Iran. iran isn’t going to be sending SU-35 to fight Israel over Syria.

that aside don't forget Bahrain receiving F-16v and a certain backstabbing country who times and times proved its servitude to our enemies also ordered it and

Iran can level Bahrain if they ever wished to use those in an offensive capacity against Iran.

F-16V won’t do well in Iranian air space where SU-35’s will be defending.

if I'm not wrong Turkey also is interested in upgrading its f-16 to f-16v standard

Being interest and having it happen are two different things.

 

[Hack-Hook]

And SU-35’s will be inside or near Iranian border and have benefit of data link to other Russian radars inside Iran. iran isn’t going to be sending SU-35 to fight Israel over Syria.

su-35 data link is propriety and is not compatible with older Russian equipment

ran can level Bahrain if they ever wished to use those in an offensive capacity against Iran.

F-16V won’t do well in Iranian air space where SU-35’s will be defending.

they do their work outside Iran border
they made the bid . what more you need and as i said apg-68 is not less capable than ibris-e

You say wrong info, I correct you and then you said it doesn’t matter and change the topic.

no go read my post was answer to what and if i ever mentioned israel f16 or not
more importantly go read about capabilities of ibris-e for start the link i post is a good beginning

 

[Fatman17]

IN-DEPTH: IRAN'S RECENTLY UPGRADED AH-1J COBRA FLEET​

1. Aviation Features
2. IN-DEPTH: Iran's recently upgraded AH-1J Cobra fleet

By Babak Taghvaee 25th August 2021
FEATURE

Operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Iran's small Bell AH-1J fleet has seen a fair share of indigenous modernization in recent years, as Babak Taghvaee explains.
Formed almost six years ago, the Army Aviation Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGCAA) today operates more than 80 helicopters including nine Bell AH-1J International Cobras, with three examples modernized by Iranian Aircraft Manufacturing Industries (IAMI). Over the past four years, the IRGCAA has been trying to equip its small fleet of AH-1Js with a new air-to-surface missile and an anti-tank missile, Qaem-114, was unveiled for the first time on July 7.

AH-1J None-Tow Cobra, 15-1402, after a combat mission against Jondollah terrorists return to Zahedan International Airport on June 16, 2009. Ahmad Mahgoli


Early days
In 2001, Brigadier General Ahmad Kazemi, the then-commander in chief of the IRGC Air Force (from 2009, it became known as the IRGC Aerospace Force, or IRGCASF), requested Ali Khamenei, leader of the Islamic Republic, to permit the IRGC to procure two former army AH-1J Cobra helicopters that had been restored by the Iranian Helicopters Support and Renewal Company (IHSRC). They belonged to the Iranian Army Aviation Force (IRIAA, as it was then known), which lacked the funds to pay for the necessary restoration and renewal of parts and fuselage sections.
The first AH-1J was a TOW Cobra capable of using the Iranian-made clone of the BGM-71A TOW anti-tank missile (Towfan), while the second helicopter was a Non-TOW version capable of using only the 2¾-inch Hydra unguided rockets. They were serialled 15-1401 and 15-1402 and received an overall olive drab and two-tone desert camouflage respectively. They entered IRGCAF service at Fat'h helicopter base, Karaj, to the west of Tehran, in 2001.

One of four Towfan-2 Cobras of IRGCAA with serial number 12-2205 can be seen armed with eight dummy Qaem-114 missiles during an unveiling ceremony on July 7, 2021. Arash Bagheri

IHSRC (called ‘Panha’ in Iran) also worked on the restoration of two more battle-damaged AH-1J TOW Cobras of Iranian Army Aviation, in a project known as Panha-2091. The front sections of their fuselages had been destroyed by cannon rounds from Iraqi tanks during the Iran-Iraq war and the extensive restoration work required manufacture of fuselage panels and structural parts. Panha engineers also co-operated with their colleagues from IAMI (also known as HESA in Iran) and designed a new canopy for the helicopters equipped with a flat, bulletproof windshield instead of the former oval, non-bulletproof version.
Under a project named Hesa-2091, both helicopters were equipped with multifunction displays and a new weapon control system with a head-up display for the pilot. Design and production of the new digital systems and their components was carried out by the Iranian Electronics Industries Company (IEI) with the assistance of Isfahan University of Technology and a Chinese-connected company, Safa Electronic Component Industries. Installation was performed by IAMI in Shahin-Shahr.

Mock-ups of Qaem-114 anti-tank missiles installed under AH1J Towfan 2 of IRGCAA, serial 12-2205, during the July 7 ceremony. Mohammad Shaltouki

These two helicopters were ultimately named Tiztak-2091 and became prototypes for a larger modernization project of 102 AH-1J Cobra attack helicopters for the Iranian Army Aviation Force. In total, the cost of the Panha-2091 and Hesa-2091 projects exceeded the whole IRIAA budget for 2001! This resulted in the cancellation of the wider modernization program a year later. Step forward the IRGC which procured the two Tiztak-2091 prototypes alongside four more former IRIAA AH-1J Non-TOW Cobra helicopters from the Iranian Defence Ministry. These were delivered between 2003 and 2005. The Tzitak-2091s received serials 15-1405 and 15-1408 while the Non-TOW Cobras were given serial numbers 15-1403, 1404, 1406 and 1407.

New force, new upgrades
After the formation of the IRGCAA on February 23, 2016, the IRGCASF helicopter base at Fat’h was transferred to the IRGCGF (IRGC Ground Force), of which the IRGCAA was now a part. The AH-1Js of the IRGCASF now in IRGCAA service received new standard serial numbers, 12-2201 to 12-2208. Both Tiztak-2021s were given a new brown-green two-tone to replace their overall olive-drab camouflage after overhaul at IAMI’s Shahin-Shahr facility in 2017 and 2019.

AH-1J Towfam-2 of IRGCAA with serial 12-2208 and equipped with a RU- 290 thermal camera seen at Zahedan International Airport. Ahmad Mahgoli

The IRGCAA immediately began working on upgrade projects to increase combat capability of the small but busy fleet of IRGCAA Cobra helicopters. Both Tiztak helicopters had been equipped with new targeting/surveillance turrets instead of their M-65 Telescopic Sight Units under a IAMI project named Towfan-2 back in 2012. The first helicopters, 15-1405 and 15-1408, were equipped with the Oqab EO/IR targeting turret produced by IOI (Iranian Optics Industries) in 2012, while 15-1407, now with serial 12-2208, received an RU-290 thermal camera, a product of Rayan Roshd-Afzar.
In March 2016, the IRGC contracted an aviation-based technologies developer named Tose’e Fannavaran Havapayeh, a subsidiary of Iranian Aircraft Industries (IACI), to help the Self-Sufficency and Industrial Research branch of the IRGCAA in design and development of new air-toground anti-tank missiles to replace the Towfan or Iranian clone of the BGM-71A TOW anti-tank missile. The armaments department of the company worked on a project to convert several Iranian copies of AIM-9J Sidewinder IR-guided missiles called Fater into an air-to-surface missile called Azarakhsh, equipped with TV and IR sensors. The new missile was unveiled on February 28, 2018.

AH-1J Towfan 2 with serial number 15- 1408 seen inside an IRGCGF garrison in an exhibition in Tehran in May 2013. Babak Taghvaee

Later that year, Project Azarakhsh was abandoned by the IRGCAA for reasons that are not known. Instead, the IRGCAA began investing in a new project of the company to design and develop another anti-tank missile, to be called Qaem-114. The new missile bore an exact resemblance to the AGM-114 Hellfire anti-tank missile. Each AH-1J was capable of carrying a maximum of eight compared with only two of the Azarakhsh.
In addition, the Bell 214A Isfahan utility helicopters of IRGCAA Qaem-114 are being equipped with EO/IR targeting systems and missile pylons to be capable of using the new missile which was officially unveiled for the first time by IRGC Ground Force at its HQ east of Tehran on July 7, 2021.

This AH-1J Towfan 2 is seen in Shahin- Shaahar during its unveiling ceremony on January 1, 2013. It was still in IRGCASF colors and with serial number 15-1408. Ali Naderi

 

[Fatman17]

In 2020, the IRGCAA obtained a ninth AH-1J Cobra attack helicopter which, like the Towfan-2s, was equipped with glass cockpits (digital instrumentation) for the gunner and pilot. Instead of an EO/IR turret under the nose, the AH-1J (serial 12-2209) was equipped with a new EO/IR targeting system using the casing of M65 TSU but with new optics inside. Named LBR-H, the new system is the product of a company called Kowsar Trading systems.

Countering the Taliban threat
According to satellite images, at the time of going to press IRGCAA had four or five of its nine AH-1J attack helicopters on deployment. Of these, three were flown from Fat’h helicopter base to Birjand where they were stationed alongside two Mi-171Sh transport helicopters to provide support for IRGCGF deployment along Iran’s border with Afghanistan’s Farah province.

AH-1J Towfan 2, serial number 15- 1405 (now 12-2205 in service of IRGCAA), seen in an exhibition in Tehran during August 2016. Bagher Sonboli

In the satellite images, no AH-1J attack helicopters were spotted on deployment at the Hamzaeh garrison of IRGCGF in Orumiyeh for actions against PKK/PJAK.
Following the occupation of the majority of Afghanistan’s Farah province by the Taliban in late June and early July of this year, both the IRIGF and IRGCGF were put on high alert and tasked to deploy their forces to the South Khorasan province of Iran to provide support for Iranian border guards in any possible operation against the Taliban. The IRGCGF’s 21st ‘Imam-Reza’ Independent Armoured Brigade from the city of Neyshabur deployed its BMP-2 Infantry Fighting Vehicles and T-72M1 main battle tanks to Birjand on June 24, 2021. A day later the IRGCAA helicopters arrived at Birjand to be used in their support.

AH-1J None-Tow Cobra, serial 15- 1403, after a combat mission against Jondollah terrorists in Zahedan in summer 2008. Ahmad Mahgoli


Anti-insurgency operations
Despite the relatively small size of the AH-1J Cobra fleet, it has been extremely active during counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations in the southeast and northwest of Iran within the past 15 years. Both the IRGCASF and now IRGCAA have always had two firesupport teams, each formed with two to three AH-1Js in Orumiyeh and Zahedan to be used against the PKK/PJAK and Jaish ul-Adl terrorist groups. The fire-support team at the IRGCGF Hamzeh Garrison in the northwest of Iran has two Bell 214A utility helicopters for SAR operations to accompany the Cobras while the team in Zahedan International Airport has two to three Mi-171Sh helicopters; usually, one is armed with B8M1 rocket pods.
The most notable use of the AH-1Js in combat by the IRGC took place in spring and summer 2008 when two AH-1Js stationed in Zahedan were extensively used in close-air-support missions during a counter-terrorism operation by IRGC Ground Forces against the Jondollah group (later to be rebranded as Jaish ul-Adl after being listed as a terrorist organization by the US State Department). After the arrest and execution of its leader, Abdolmalek Reigi by Iran, the group stopped its activities in 2009. It resumed again a few years later resulting in the launch of new anti-terror operations involving the AH-1Js in 2013, which continued periodically until 2020.

Serial 15-1406 was one of three AH-1Js of IRGC that participated in operations against Jaish ul-Adl from Zahedan International Airport in February 2014. Ahmad Mahgoli

The anti-terror operations of the IRGCGF against Jaish ul-Adl involving the AH-1Js of the IRGCAA continued until November 17, 2020, when the Pakistani Army launched an assault against the terrorists’ hideouts in its provinces of Balochistan. The group’s leader, Omar Shahuzehi (nicknamed ‘Molla Omar’) and his two sons were killed by Pakistani counter-terrorism forces in the resulting gunfight.
With the temporary end of anti-terrorism operations in Iran’s Sistan and Balochistan province, the IRGCAA’s AH-1Js have only seen action against PKK and its Iranian branch, PJAK, in the northwest of Iran and the Sardasht district in particular.

IRIAA with 97 AH-1J International Cobras in service including eight Towfan-2s remains the largest operator of the helicopter type in Iran. Here a recently overhauled AH-1J can be seen during a handover ceremony in Mehrabad International Airport in March 2021. Ali Naderi

While no use of rockets or air-to-surface missiles by these helicopters against PKK has been reported within the past couple of years, the force is heavily involved in border patrol missions, providing escort for the convoys of IRGC Ground or Land Forces during their deployments to the Turkish border.

Topics​

Read more about

• Iran
• Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)
• Bell AH-1 Cobra
• Bell-Textron
• Attack Helicopter

Originally published in Combat Aircraft Journal​

 

[GoMig-21]

Russian Weapons never withstand their Paper Specs in the real battlefield.
I'm not saying Su-35 is bad but it will most probably not live upto its declared Paper Specs.
400km range means nothing if it can not engage F-16 from that range.

And those are fair points. My point was addressing @Ali_Baba 's post where he said this:

Not sure if the full-fat versions of the Su-35 will turn up or not, but i hope they do, it is quite evident that Iran does need to recapitalise her airforce and the Su-35 while not as good as the latest F16s or anything newer, are the best that Iran can get. This will allow Iran to conduct operations over Iraq/Syria that work against Iranian interests, given the range the Su-35 can offer for combat operations.

If the hypothetical scenario is the Su-35Ss vs "the latest F16s or anything newer", period. Not even the export Su-35S which he made clear that he wasn't sure which Iran would get so that would mean only the latest F-16s vs the current Su-35S.

So I simply used the F-16V which is why I mentioned the APG/83 AESA in the Viper vs the IRBIS-E PLUS its combined AESA L-band arrays on its leading-edge wings. People forget that is one of the MAJOR features of the Su-35S. But like all the usual anti-Russian bias, that gets ignored and slipped aside for the simple sake of winning an argument or whatever the reason may be.

Then I listed a few of the other major comparisons I could think of that are all well-known - single engine vs dual engine. TVC vs fixed nozzle. AIM-120D (not C-5, not C-7/8 but D) vs R-77-1 and AIM-260 vs R-37M. Radar ranges. Fuel capacity and even EW pods. And if sources are needed, then fine, no problemo there I can easily supply them but instead, I get silly replies like the ones you read. Stuff about the US simply being a leading industrial giant that spends 3 times what others do and just childish stuff. Nothing of worthy substance whatsoever.

To dismiss the Su-35S in such a manner is not only silly, but also indicative of a severe bias AND lack of understanding and basic familiarity of the many systems that make each fighter what it is. And to say that the F-16V would run circles around the Su-35S is beyond hallucinations and borderline wet dreams.

 

[Flotilla]

In 2020, the IRGCAA obtained a ninth AH-1J Cobra attack helicopter which, like the Towfan-2s, was equipped with glass cockpits (digital instrumentation) for the gunner and pilot. Instead of an EO/IR turret under the nose, the AH-1J (serial 12-2209) was equipped with a new EO/IR targeting system using the casing of M65 TSU but with new optics inside. Named LBR-H, the new system is the product of a company called Kowsar Trading systems.

Countering the Taliban threat
According to satellite images, at the time of going to press IRGCAA had four or five of its nine AH-1J attack helicopters on deployment. Of these, three were flown from Fat’h helicopter base to Birjand where they were stationed alongside two Mi-171Sh transport helicopters to provide support for IRGCGF deployment along Iran’s border with Afghanistan’s Farah province.

AH-1J Towfan 2, serial number 15- 1405 (now 12-2205 in service of IRGCAA), seen in an exhibition in Tehran during August 2016. Bagher Sonboli

In the satellite images, no AH-1J attack helicopters were spotted on deployment at the Hamzaeh garrison of IRGCGF in Orumiyeh for actions against PKK/PJAK.
Following the occupation of the majority of Afghanistan’s Farah province by the Taliban in late June and early July of this year, both the IRIGF and IRGCGF were put on high alert and tasked to deploy their forces to the South Khorasan province of Iran to provide support for Iranian border guards in any possible operation against the Taliban. The IRGCGF’s 21st ‘Imam-Reza’ Independent Armoured Brigade from the city of Neyshabur deployed its BMP-2 Infantry Fighting Vehicles and T-72M1 main battle tanks to Birjand on June 24, 2021. A day later the IRGCAA helicopters arrived at Birjand to be used in their support.

AH-1J None-Tow Cobra, serial 15- 1403, after a combat mission against Jondollah terrorists in Zahedan in summer 2008. Ahmad Mahgoli


Anti-insurgency operations
Despite the relatively small size of the AH-1J Cobra fleet, it has been extremely active during counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations in the southeast and northwest of Iran within the past 15 years. Both the IRGCASF and now IRGCAA have always had two firesupport teams, each formed with two to three AH-1Js in Orumiyeh and Zahedan to be used against the PKK/PJAK and Jaish ul-Adl terrorist groups. The fire-support team at the IRGCGF Hamzeh Garrison in the northwest of Iran has two Bell 214A utility helicopters for SAR operations to accompany the Cobras while the team in Zahedan International Airport has two to three Mi-171Sh helicopters; usually, one is armed with B8M1 rocket pods.
The most notable use of the AH-1Js in combat by the IRGC took place in spring and summer 2008 when two AH-1Js stationed in Zahedan were extensively used in close-air-support missions during a counter-terrorism operation by IRGC Ground Forces against the Jondollah group (later to be rebranded as Jaish ul-Adl after being listed as a terrorist organization by the US State Department). After the arrest and execution of its leader, Abdolmalek Reigi by Iran, the group stopped its activities in 2009. It resumed again a few years later resulting in the launch of new anti-terror operations involving the AH-1Js in 2013, which continued periodically until 2020.

Serial 15-1406 was one of three AH-1Js of IRGC that participated in operations against Jaish ul-Adl from Zahedan International Airport in February 2014. Ahmad Mahgoli

The anti-terror operations of the IRGCGF against Jaish ul-Adl involving the AH-1Js of the IRGCAA continued until November 17, 2020, when the Pakistani Army launched an assault against the terrorists’ hideouts in its provinces of Balochistan. The group’s leader, Omar Shahuzehi (nicknamed ‘Molla Omar’) and his two sons were killed by Pakistani counter-terrorism forces in the resulting gunfight.
With the temporary end of anti-terrorism operations in Iran’s Sistan and Balochistan province, the IRGCAA’s AH-1Js have only seen action against PKK and its Iranian branch, PJAK, in the northwest of Iran and the Sardasht district in particular.

IRIAA with 97 AH-1J International Cobras in service including eight Towfan-2s remains the largest operator of the helicopter type in Iran. Here a recently overhauled AH-1J can be seen during a handover ceremony in Mehrabad International Airport in March 2021. Ali Naderi

While no use of rockets or air-to-surface missiles by these helicopters against PKK has been reported within the past couple of years, the force is heavily involved in border patrol missions, providing escort for the convoys of IRGC Ground or Land Forces during their deployments to the Turkish border.

Topics​

Read more about

• Iran
• Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)
• Bell AH-1 Cobra
• Bell-Textron
• Attack Helicopter

Originally published in Combat Aircraft Journal​

As always Mr. Fatman17, thanks for sharing!

 

[HamidAgha]

Russian Weapons never withstand their Paper Specs in the real battlefield.
I'm not saying Su-35 is bad but it will most probably not live upto its declared Paper Specs.
400km range means nothing if it can not engage F-16 from that range.

Kowsar won't fare much better on paper and on the field either. So better put some of those eggs in the Sokhoi basket.

 

[Fatman17]

As always Mr. Fatman17, thanks for sharing!

Most welcome Sir

 

[Harbyharb]

Russian Weapons never withstand their Paper Specs in the real battlefield.
I'm not saying Su-35 is bad but it will most probably not live upto its declared Paper Specs.
400km range means nothing if it can not engage F-16 from that range.

As I mentioned before in other threads, the Su-35 likely will not be able to match its regional rivals such as F-16 blk 50/52 and onwards, F-15 E/F or equivalent, and F-35s in a vacuum due to shortcomings in avionics and air-to-air munitions. Yet such matchups realistically would never happen, and realistic expectations of Su-35's role and capability have to be set based on realistic circumstances.

For the foreseeable future, Iran's primary aerial threats come from Israel conducting long-range stand-off strikes against important ground assets. Given that the Su-35 will be given to Artesh instead of IRGC, its missions will likely be restricted within Iranian airspace instead of extending into Syria and Iraq. In this circumstance, any Israeli strike sorties would have to travel 2000km either over the Mediterranean or over Gulf airspace, which necessitates the involvement of tankers for aerial refuelling.

Such large, vulnerable and conspicuous targets are Su-35's preferred target group. This excuses Irbis-E's substandard acquisition rate while making the most of its raw power, and combined with long-range AAMs such as RVV-BD or some indigenous Iranian equivalent, would make such operations much more difficult. Su-35 is perfect for such long-range patrol and emergency intercept missions thanks to a combination of its high internal fuel and fast cruising speed.

It will never have to fight an F-16 if it can disable its tanker support first.

 

[muhammed45]

As I mentioned before in other threads, the Su-35 likely will not be able to match its regional rivals such as F-16 blk 50/52 and onwards, F-15 E/F or equivalent, and F-35s in a vacuum due to shortcomings in avionics and air-to-air munitions. Yet such matchups realistically would never happen, and realistic expectations of Su-35's role and capability have to be set based on realistic circumstances.

For the foreseeable future, Iran's primary aerial threats come from Israel conducting long-range stand-off strikes against important ground assets. Given that the Su-35 will be given to Artesh instead of IRGC, its missions will likely be restricted within Iranian airspace instead of extending into Syria and Iraq. In this circumstance, any Israeli strike sorties would have to travel 2000km either over the Mediterranean or over Gulf airspace, which necessitates the involvement of tankers for aerial refuelling.

Such large, vulnerable and conspicuous targets are Su-35's preferred target group. This excuses Irbis-E's substandard acquisition rate while making the most of its raw power, and combined with long-range AAMs such as RVV-BD or some indigenous Iranian equivalent, would make such operations much more difficult. Su-35 is perfect for such long-range patrol and emergency intercept missions thanks to a combination of its high internal fuel and fast cruising speed.

It will never have to fight an F-16 if it can disable its tanker support first.

Comparing fighter jets by their size is one of the most silly comparisons that one could make, no offense.

If a fighter jet is equipped with proper counter measure and high tech electronic assets, it will be able to defeat even F-22. Read the story of F-18 Growler and F-22 encounter.

 

[Zarathustra]

Just a thought. If USA is sanctioning China anyway, might that, at last, allow China to sell aircraft to Iran?

I’m talking military & C919

 

[Harbyharb]

Comparing fighter jets by their size is one of the most silly comparisons that one could make, no offense.

If a fighter jet is equipped with proper counter measure and high tech electronic assets, it will be able to defeat even F-22. Read the story of F-18 Growler and F-22 encounter.

I said nothing about Su-35's size though.

I said "Large, vulnerable, and conspicuous targets (like Israeli oil tankers that enable Israeli long-range strikes with F-16s/F-35s) are SU-35's preferred target group", you might have misread something there.

Electronic warfare is indeed another shortcoming of SU-35 though. In the Russian-Ukraine conflict, SU-35's electronic warfare capability primarily relied on L-175 Khibiny-M pods, which because of their compact size and low power output, offer primarily self-defense capability such as EM shielding, with a secondary role of detecting and disrupting enemy communications. At the beginning of the Russo-Ukraine conflict, the SU-35s were indeed seen with such pods and Kh-31s, assumed to be the P variant in conducting SEAD duties, yet were faced with consecutive losses against relatively outdated Ukrainian systems.

 

[Zarathustra]

There’s little point comparing SU-35 against F15/F16 etc because Iran has no choice.
It seems to be SU-35 or domestic manufactured F5 variant or Yasin.

Therefore the question is how much better the SU-35 is than the F4s? It will replace.

 

[Harbyharb]

Just a thought. If USA is sanctioning China anyway, might that, at last, allow China to sell aircraft to Iran?

I’m talking military & C919

While C919 is definitely open for discussion, in terms of military aviation I'd argue it's more a case of China does not have an immediately appealing product for Iran in the current geopolitical situation.

IRIAF traditionally have a preference for twin-engine, long-range fighters to patrol its vast airspace and long treacherous borders, which are poorly covered with ground-based surveillance due to the instability of those regions. In a sense, these fighters are expected to act more like mini-AWACS.

The most fitting jets of that description are naturally the flankers. While Chinese flankers are very very capable, especially J-16 which comes with an enormously powerful AESA array, China has had an agreement with Russia over intellectual property which restricts them from selling their indigenous flankers. The only other jet that fits the description of a long-range jet is the J-20 Fagin, which is out of the discussion for obvious reasons.

The premier Chinese air assets for sale are the JF-17 and the J-10CE, both of which are very competitive jets, but they are more frontline interceptors than patrol fighters. Another option would be the export variant of their JH-7 Flying Leopard, dubbed FBC-1. It has very limited air-to-air capability, has ended its production run, and is being slowly phased out by the J-16.

Given Iran's current geopolitical situation, it does not need a large conventional air fleet for it does not have a powerful air power close to its border, with the Israeli threat limited by the long distance and the available supporting assets such as AWACS and tankers, which is necessary to support large, long-ranged air campaigns.

 

[Hack-Hook]

There’s little point comparing SU-35 against F15/F16 etc because Iran has no choice.
It seems to be SU-35 or domestic manufactured F5 variant or Yasin.

Therefore the question is how much better the SU-35 is than the F4s? It will replace.

F-4 is bomb truck , su-35 is not its absurd comparing , them , they are supposed to take the role of f-14 in iran airforce