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| The Iran F-14 Fighter Jet Crashes On Mission In Central Iran |
International Military - An F-14 fighter jet crashed on Saturday (18/6/2022) while on a mission in central Iran. The incident caused injuries to two crew members, media in the Islamic republic reported.
"The fighter jet experienced a technical error and the pilot and co-pilot landed by parachute," said Rassoul Motamedi, a military spokesman in Isfahan province where the crash occurred.
The pilot and co-pilot were injured and immediately taken to hospital for treatment. It was also reported that the plane was destroyed. It was the second such incident in Isfahan province in less than a month. Earlier, two Iranian Air Force crew members were killed when their F-7 trainer crashed.
The Air Force in sanctions-hit Iran has had several accidents in recent years. Officials have complained of difficulties in procuring spare parts to keep its aging fleet in the air.
In February, an Iranian F-5 jet crashed in a residential area in the northwestern city of Tabriz, killing three people including two of its crew.
Iran has most of Russia's MiG and Sukhoi fighter jets dating to the Soviet era, as well as some Chinese aircraft, including F-7s, French Mirage jets and American F-4 and F-5 fighters.
The Islamic Republic had 80 F-14 Tomcats, a fighter aircraft that served in the US Navy from 1972 to 2006, when it was recalled. Tehran continues to use it because American sanctions on Iran after the 1979 Islamic revolution prevented it from buying more modern Western jets.