Kish (Iran)

Iran Air Show 2018

26 - 29 November 2018

Kish island and its airport also show clear signs of the heavy sanctions imposed on Iran. The island is littered with frameworks of unfinished hotels and other high buildings and the airport features a large new terminal and second runway that have not been finished either, with no sign of further construction activity. Unlike with some previous editions
of the Iran Airshow, the trade fair and air show parts are separate nowadays. The exhibitors’ booths were housed in a large hall not far from the operating passenger terminal while the static and flying display took place at the new facilities at the other side of the airport, thus not interfering with the ground handling of airline traffic. The trade part would open in the morning but the action outside for the general public started at 2 o’clock in the afternoon, with the gates to the static display and crowd line opening around the same time. Normal airport flying operations were halted during the entire nearly three-hour afternoon show, amounting to peaks in movements just before and after that.

The trade exhibition made clear what the main activities are in the Iranian aviation industry: parts manufacturing, airframe conversion and upgrading and flight training. It was here that we learned that several Su-22s were planned to participate in the flying display. The Iranian aviation industries Pars and IACI managed to overhaul some fifteen Su-22s, including two that were returned to the Iraqi Air Force. Some thirty former Iraqi Air Force Su-22s fled to Iran during the second Gulf War and were stored outside or in open shelters for many years. In that same way Iran got possession of former Iraqi Su-25s and a bunch of other types, many of which were simply taken on strength by the IRIAF and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Air Force (IRGCAF). Only by late 2014, when the Islamic State (IS) was threatening the Iranian borders from Iraq, Iran decided to return the Su-25s. After most Su-25s left home base Shiraz for Al Rasheed near Baghdad, the IRGC decided to restart the overhaul of the old Su-22s to fill the gap created by the Su-25s.

We arrived at the field by 9 o’clock in the morning already on 26 November, with the exhibitions still partly being built up. After learning our organised entry to the showgrounds would not be before 1 o’clock in the afternoon, we sought earlier access to the static display after having had a look inside. This proved unsuccessful so we ventured on a walk along the airfield perimeter to find a spot on final approach, as some show participants were still expected to arrive. This plan was abandoned too, when we got a clear view on how long the walk would be and combined that with our small chances of success anyway.

The Eclipse is a Spanish-built light autogyro, the Sadeqh is a UAV and the LA-8 is an amphibious plane built by AeroVolga, carrying its regi only on the cockpit panel. The last three are helicopters, with the Saba 248 resembling an A109, the Shahed 278 a Bell 206 and the Sourena an R44. Close inspection for possible construction plates or other forms of identification quickly led to protests from personnel.

The organistion on this first day turned out to be nervous, with so many high-ranking officials present. We were
dropped at the static display and rushed to take some photos of it in far from optimal conditions. The adjacent flightline was better and offered some nice shots already, with some effort because it was backlit all day. Suddenly, everyone was summoned into buses to be taken to the photo spots but it was unclear which group should be on which bus. A limited number of photographers would be taken to the south side of the runway each day against a fee, and we had asked for slots on that. We ended up in a packed airport passenger mover that remained on the spot for a long time and then dropped us only a bit further along the north side, just as a pair of Su-22s came screaming overhead. Tempers flared with both public and officials, resulting in everyone being ordered back on that bus and dumped at the static display again. In the end though, this turned out not to be bad as it would result in our only day at that part of the show without sacrificing a stay on the south side - and thus risking missing good photos of flying aircraft we had not seen before.

The PC-7 carried out the flying display on the 29th.

The Saegheh is the twin-tailed Iranian F-5 conversion, an aircraft that brings together parts and systems from the USA, Russia and China according to insiders. Local sources indicated there are ten twin-tail F-5s in service with the IRIAF, including two two-seaters, while six ‘E’s and one ‘F’ have been known from open sources. One of the Saeghehs displayed at Kish served as the second prototype and was equipped with missile launch rails on the wingtips. Although interpreters with thorough knowledge of Farsi transliterate the aircraft type as “Sa’eqh”, we use the standardised designation used in our databases in this article.

The two helicopters on the static display arrived after the flying part on Monday the 26th, and the Mil departed again the next day. The static Y12 was on display only on Tuesday the 27th.

The Il-76 was the Strizhi support of course, and these Russians arrived on Monday evening after sunset. As of Tuesday, we were watching the flying display from the special photo spot south of the runway. Apart from some initial deviations on Monday, the flying programme was the same every day. The first engines to be started were those of the Harbin Y12, carrying parachutists for their opening demo. When they were safely on the ground, low-level smoke trails appeared on the horizon as a pair of Su-22s was crossing the Kish coastline. Seeing these green monsters indeed show up and fill the viewfinders, while making their highspeed passes with pull-ups and rolls, brought euphoria to the whole gathering of enthusiasts. These were gems we had not been expecting before arriving at Kish.

The dates in the last column indicate the presence, where no date means flying on all four days. The two Sukhois on Monday remained unidentified. Afther the Sukhois, there were consecutive displays by up to three Tucanos and then a sole PC-7, while the Y12 landed.

Before the PC-7 would be back on the ground, jet noise broke in again as the pair of Saeghehs from the flightline took to the air. Their routine consisted of a number of spectacular passes, possibly spectacular enough to trigger a commander into explaining the pilots he needed the aircraft and them after the show as well: starting Wednesday, the whole display took place considerably higher and much less wilder.

Before the modified Tigers landed again, the next smoking highlight showed up over the coastal waters: a formation of three Phantoms and two Tomcats, lead by a tanker aircraft apart from Monday. On Tuesday, the tanker was a 707-3J9C operating out of Tehran-Mehrabad and on the two remaining days even a mighty Boeing 747-131. All three Tomcats seen at Kish were furnished in the bluegray colour scheme and were reported to be three of just some twelve currently operational Cats. The IRIAF faces large problems to keep their F-14As and F-14AMs operational. The F-14AM is likely capable to use original US as well as Russian air-to-air missiles. As fate would have it, we would not see the Asian camouflage Tomcats we had had on our minds for so long, or the Iranian MiGs seen at previous editions, but that was of very minor importance in the sheer joy for what we did get.

Soon after the previous spectacle a Hercules appeared, for a precision drop of cargo pallets south of the runway. While these landed exactly where they should, their exit point from the C-130 was directly overhead the photographers, at rather low altitude. Someone in the organisation must have deemed this too risky as well and the demo did not return after Tuesday. Who did return were the F-4s and F-14s, with the Phantoms doing a nice formation break and the Tomcats again swooping low over the coastline in loose formation for an afterburner pass. Closing the Iranian flying display, the Saeghehs recovered to taxi back to the Kish flightline. The show was closed each day with a display by the Baltic Bees, followed by the immaculate but lengthy routine of the Strizhi. After their MiGs had touched down in golden light, daily airline operations took over the airport again.

Movements:

The Eurofox was a banner towing ultralight, appearing after the last flying display. A very nice military visitor was the IRGCAF Antonov on the 27th.

All of the above helicopters were seen west of the terminal area, some in hangars. Fokker 100 EP-LCD is white, with former Kish Air colours on the right-hand tail fin and stored between the old and new terminal areas. Close to it, under a shed, was A321 EP-LCT still in basic Aeroflot colours, with Kish air logos and titles. The other five planes, three Fokker 50s, the MD-82 and Tupolev, sit at the south-west corner the airfield, where they are also visible from outside the field.

Credits: Erik Sleutelberg, Stephan de Bruijn, Jan Swart

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