It is the second such incident in a month in the area, following the May 24 crash of an F-7 training aircraft and the death of its two pilots.
Two pilots of the Iranian Air Force were slightly injured yesterday when an F-14 fighter jet crashed in the central part of the country, Tasnim news agency reported.
It was the second such incident in a month in the region, following the May 24 crash of an F-7 training aircraft (the Chinese version of the Soviet MiG-21), which killed two pilots.
“The F-14 fighter jet had its engine damaged (yesterday) morning in the Isfahan area (central),” Rasul Motamedi, a spokesman for the Iranian armed forces in the area, told Tasnim.
“The pilot and the pilot of the weapons and radar were injured when they landed with their parachutes and were immediately taken to hospital,” Mr Motamedi added, adding that the aircraft had been “destroyed”.
In recent years, Iranian media have reported on several accidents involving military aircraft.
In February, an F-5 fighter crashed in Tabriz (northwest), killing three people.
The Iranian Air Force has a fleet of about 300 fighters, Soviet-made (MiG-29, Su-25), American-made (F-4, F-5, F-14), Chinese-made (F-7), French-made (Mirage). F1), as well as some of the Saeqeh type (“Astropeleki”, the Iranian version of the F-5), according to experts.
In 2006, Iran formally withdrew about 80 F-14 Tomcat aircraft from its service, but continues to use them as US sanctions after the 1979 Islamic Revolution prevented Tehran from purchasing new Western-built fighter jets. .
