Built in an unknown location, the ‘Eagle 44’ site can launch fighter jets and drones
The Iranian Army unveiled a new underground air base on Tuesday. Situated in an undisclosed mountainous location, the base is impervious to bombing and can service, fuel, arm, and launch fighter jets, bombers, and drones.
Video footage of the ‘Oqab 44’ (Eagle 44) facility was shown on Iranian state media, featuring what appears to be an F-4 Phantom fighter-bomber emerging from behind blast doors, before taxiing through a wide tunnel and taking off from an external runway.
The base is equipped with command posts, hangars, maintenance sites, fuel depots, and navigation equipment, Iran’s IRNA news agency reported. The Iranian military has constructed several such sites across the country, IRNA added, noting that while their locations remain a secret, all are built “under the mountains.”
Iran on Tuesday unveiled its first underground air force base, called "Eagle 44", the country’s official news agency IRNA reported."It is one of the army's most important air force bases, with fighters equipped with long-range cruise missiles and built in the depths of earth.” pic.twitter.com/KACSXkljyc
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) February 7, 2023
Footage from one of these bases – a drone site named ‘Strategic UAV Base 313’ – was revealed by the Iranian military last year. However, ‘Eagle 44’ is the Islamic Republic’s first underground base capable of hosting fighters and bombers that has been publicly revealed.
“Any attack on Iran from our enemies, including Israel, will see a response from our many air force bases including Eagle 44,” Iranian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri told reporters during a visit to the base on Tuesday.
The unveiling of the base comes at a time of increased tension between Iran and Israel, with Tehran blaming the Israeli military for a drone strike on a military site in the city of Isfahan last month. While Israel neither confirmed or denied its involvement, media reports claimed the attack was masterminded in West Jerusalem, while Ukrainian officials cryptically suggested that the strike was somehow connected to Iran’s alleged supply of ‘kamikaze’ drones to Russia.
Moscow and Tehran have both denied that Iranian drones are being used in Ukraine, with the Kremlin stating that it uses domestically-made UAVs to target Ukrainian military and infrastructure targets.
US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is preparing to leave the Trump administration after what a new report has described as months of tension with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, potentially triggering another change at the army’s top echelons.
According to the Friday report by The Wall Street Journal, Driscoll is expected to step down before the end of the year and could leave his post earlier. The newspaper cited people familiar with discussions over his departure.
The Journal reported that Driscoll and his family vacated the official residence assigned to the army secretary at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall this summer, a move that could indicate he was preparing to leave the position.
The reported departure would come at a time of continuing uncertainty at the top echelons of the army.
Hegseth abruptly removed Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George in April, while Trump has not yet nominated a permanent successo....more below
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The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) warns the enemies that any act of aggression against the Islamic Republic will not go unanswered.
In a statement on Thursday, the IRGC issued a “stern warning” to the enemies after US forces launched strikes against the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas.
Following the US military attack on a point on the outskirts of Bandar Abbas Airport with aerial projectiles, the IRGC carried out new strikes targeting the US air base from which the attack originated in the wee hours of Thursday, it added.
“This response is a serious warning to the enemy that they should know the act of aggression will not go unanswered,” the IRGC emphasized.
The elite military force warned of a “more decisive” response if the enemy repeated any act of aggression.
It also said the responsibility for the consequences of any IRGC response lies with the aggressor.
The statement comes after the IRGC Navy on Thursday forced an American tanker to turn back. The tanker ...
