Iran Air Force unveils Oghab-44 underground air base.

Tasnim news agency reports that the Iranian Air Force unveiled its first underground military base on Tuesday, February 7. Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri, and Iran’s Army Commander, Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, visited the subterranean air base, named Oghab-44 (Eagle-44). The tactical airbase can accommodate and prepare various aircraft, including fighter jets, bombers, and unmanned aerial vehicles, for missions.

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The Oghab-44 underground base consists of various sections, such as an alert area, command post, warplane hangars, repair and maintenance center, navigation and airport equipment, and fuel tanks (Picture source: Tasnim)

 The Oghab-44 underground base consists of various sections, such as an alert area, command post, warplane hangars, repair and maintenance center, navigation and airport equipment, and fuel tanks. The large subterranean airbase can also receive the Air Force’s new fighter jets and prepare them for missions, Tasnim reports.

Oghab-44 is one of the several tactical underground bases of the Air Force that has been constructed across Iran in recent years considering the operational needs of the Air Force units and the civil defense requirements. These bases that have been constructed in proportion to the needs and with high safety factors are located under the mountainous areas, so that they can be used for surprise aerial operations in the spots and at times that the enemies would not expect, Tasnim comments.
The underground bases accommodate the fighter jets in safe locations and furnish the planes with electronic warfare systems and various bombs and missiles, including Yasin, Qaem and Asef, which allow for standoff aerial operations and extend the strategic range of attacks against remote targets.

The Iranian Air Force had already unveiled an underground drone base dubbed “Drone Base 313”. The recent years’ developments indicate that the Air Force has detailed plans to develop subterranean bases across Iran.

F-4 Phantom II taxiing in the Oghab-44 underground base. The Iranian Air Force is believed to still operate 63 McDonnell Douglas F-4D/E and RF-4E fighter bombers (Picture source: Tasnim)

F-4 Phantom II taxiing in the Oghab-44 underground base (Picture source: Fars news agency)

Iranian high-ranking officers inspect an F-4 Phantom fighter jet armed with indigenous weapons, which appear to be an Mk-82 bomb with a glide kit and one of Iran’s anti-ship weapons (Picture source: Fars news agency)