Main article: Air force history of Iran
In February 1979, the IRIAF came into being when the former Imperial Iranian Air Force (IIAF) was renamed following the Islamic Revolution in Iran. The British publishing company Orbis’ Warplane partwork magazine seems to indicate the renaming did not actually take place until after the Iran–Iraq War had broken out.[citation needed]
This “new” Iranian air force largely inherited the equipment and structure of the former IIAF, losing most of its leading officers in the course of post-revolutionary chaos, as well as due to the prosecution of those considered as loyal to the Shah, pro-U.S. or elsewhere by the new government in Tehran.
Due to strained relations with the West, Iran had to procure new equipment from Brazil, the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China. Since the Revolution, the exact composition of the IRIAF has been hard to determine. Many aircraft belonging to the Iraqi Air Force took refuge in Iran during the Persian Gulf War in 1991, and many were put into service with the IRIAF or taken apart for spare parts.
Due to the continuous spare parts shortages faced by the air force, a decision was made in the late 1980s to develop a local aerospace industry to support the air force.