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The Israeli Air Force (IAF) stated on Sunday that it struck facilities housing Iran's F-14 Tomcat fighter jets at an airport in Isfahan, in a wide-scale attack aimed at deepening Israel's aerial superiority over Iran and eliminating the remnants of Tehran's aging combat fleet.
"In a wide-scale Air Force strike directed by Military Intelligence, facilities storing F-14 fighter jets belonging to the Iranian terror regime were attacked yesterday at the airport in Isfahan," the Israeli army said in a statement.
The strike followed the destruction of 16 aircraft used by the Quds Force at Mehrabad Airport in Tehran the day before, as part of what Israel described as efforts to deepen its aerial superiority over Iran.
The Israeli army previously released infrared targeting camera footage showing a pair of F-14A Tomcats being destroyed by air-to-ground munitions as they sat outside hardened aircraft shelters at Mehrabad back in 2025.
"The Israeli army will continue to intensify its actions against all assets of the Iranian terror regime and expand aerial superiority throughout Iran," the statement said.
Iran had maintained a small cadre of flyable F-14s two decades after the U.S. Navy, the type's only other operator, retired the aircraft.
Since the United States embargoed all support for Iran's Tomcats decades ago, Tehran had been resourceful in developing its own maintenance programs and smuggling components to keep the notoriously complex jets airworthy.
The practice of cannibalizing airframes to sustain a small number of flyable aircraft had been ongoing for years.
It was unclear exactly how many F-14s remained flyable before the strikes. Estimates in recent years ranged from a small handful to around 25 aircraft.
The strikes at Isfahan and Mehrabad were part of Israel's broader campaign to establish complete air superiority over Iran.
Israel's military said it had carried out around 3,400 strikes, dropping roughly 7,500 munitions on Iran since the war began on Feb. 28.
The campaign has targeted air defense batteries, radar systems, command centers, ballistic missile sites, and naval vessels in addition to airfields.
The United States and Israel launched their military operation against Iran on Feb. 28, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and more than 1,000 people.
Iran has retaliated with missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and Gulf countries hosting U.S. military assets.
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