The Iranian air force, though large, suffered heavy casualties in the eight-year war against neighboring Iraq that ended in 1988. Due to trade sanctions imposed on the country, Iran has had difficulty replacing its aircraft losses and obtaining spare parts to keep its intact aircraft flying. In general, pilots and crews are poorly trained and the 35,000 men (reportedly) in air force service have no more than 80 total aircraft (and many of these may be grounded due to lack of proper maintenance).
