A fighter jet at the underground air force base Eagle 44 at an undisclosed location in Iran [Iranian Army/WANA/Handout via Reuters]
Iran’s army has unveiled a major underground base to showcase its aerial military capabilities in response to significant joint exercises by the United States and Israel.
State television on Tuesday showed footage of a variety of fighter jets and military drones at the base, dubbed the “Eagle 44”, the location of which remains unknown.
It said the base is dug in the mountains to protect it from ammunition dropped from US strategic bombers that are capable of penetrating defences.
The unveiling, which was attended by top military officials, comes less than two weeks after the US and Israel held their largest-ever joint drill, using thousands of troops and dozens of aircraft in addition to naval vessels and artillery systems in what was widely seen as a message to Iran amid rising tensions.
That joint drill had in turn come days after Iran held wide-ranging exercises to showcase its military readiness.
“Maybe they hadn’t received Iran’s message [with that exercise] correctly. Iran is now sending a message again. This is the sound of rumbling from within the mountains,” the state television reporter said, as a fighter jet moved in a tunnel behind him.
State television showed footage of fighter jets taking off to conduct drill missions during day and night, adding that “the message of these operations is that now we are the absolute air power in the region”.
فیلم/ اولین پایگاه «زیرزمینی» نیروی هوایی ارتش با نام «عقاب۴۴»
🔹این نخستین پایگاه هوایی «زیرزمینی» ارتش جمهوری اسلامی ایران که رسانهای میشود.https://t.co/0udat3NJrM@Tasnim_military pic.twitter.com/O5qTfeJmCy
— اخبار امنیتی- نظامی (@Tasnim_military) February 7, 2023
The Iranian army also unveiled a new missile called the Asef which was described as a long-range, air-fired cruise missile that is meant to be mounted on Iran’s Russian-made Sukhoi Su-24 jets and can penetrate enemy defences.
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By: Miss Cherry May Timbol – Independent Reporter
