Iran unveils underground base for fighter jets

TEHRAN: Iran´s army on Tuesday unveiled its first underground base for fighter jets designed to withstand possible strikes by US bunker-busting bombs, state media reported.

The base -- named Oghab 44 (“Eagle” in Persian) -- can accommodate “all types of fighter jets and bombers, in addition to drones”, the official news agency IRNA said, releasing images and videos from inside the base.

The exact location of the base was not revealed, but state media said it was “at the depth of hundreds of metres under the mountains”, and capable of withstanding “bombs by strategic US bombers”.

In May last year, Iran´s army revealed an air force base for drones under the Zagros mountain range in the west of the country. The latest unveiling comes the day before Iran marks Air Force Day, part of the build-up to the 44th anniversary on Saturday of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

State media on Tuesday showed Iran´s armed forces chief of staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri and the army´s commander-in-chief Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi at the new base.

Oghab 44 is “one of numerous tactical underground air bases for the army´s air force built in different areas of the country in recent years”, IRNA reported. It can prepare fighter jets to “counter possible offensives” such as those practised by the US and Israel in their recent military drill, according to state media.

Iran has mostly Russian MiG and Sukhoi fighter jets that date back to the Soviet era, as well as some Chinese aircraft, including the F-7. Some American F-4 and F-5 fighter jets dating back to before the revolution are also part of its fleet.