Rare Boeing 747 (operated by IRIAF) destroyed
A rare Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) Boeing 747 cargo aircraft had been detected delivering military supplies from China. It has been targeted and destroyed by US and Israeli strikes at Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran.
According to a post appeared on X, “The 747 burning is not a passenger aircraft. It is an IRIAF military variant used for long-range logistics. Iran operates a small fleet inherited from the Shah era, maintained through decades of sanctions with cannibalized parts. Every one destroyed is irreplaceable. No factory will sell Iran a new 747. No supply chain can produce the components. When this airframe burns out, the capability is permanently gone.
“A 747 takes decades of industrial civilization to build. It takes one precision munition to end. The smoke over Mehrabad tonight is not just an aircraft burning. It is the physical manifestation of a capability gap that widens with every sortie and closes with nothing, because nothing Iran can do under current conditions will put another 747 on that tarmac.”
KC-747
IRIAF operated also the world’s only KC-747 tanker. This aircraft was destroyed by the Israeli Air Force (IAF) in June 2025 during Operation Rising Lion.
Developed in the 1970s for the Shah of Iran, this heavily modified 747-100 was designed to extend the range of F-4 and F-14 fighters.
According to Airline Secrets Exposed Facebook page, the KC-747 was converted from Boeing 747 MSN 20082 5-8107, Serial number 20082 LN:151, Type 747-131SF. It flew for the first time on Aug. 4, 1971.
“Jumbo Jet”
The 747 was the result of the work of some 50,000 Boeing people. Called “the Incredibles,” these were the construction workers, mechanics, engineers, secretaries and administrators who made aviation history by building the Boeing 747 — the largest civilian airplane in the world — in roughly 16 months during the late 1960s.
First flight occurred on Feb. 9, 1969, followed by an extensive test program and it became a mainstay of the world’s international airlines.
The 747 was the first airplane called a “Jumbo Jet” as the first wide-body airliner.
The 747 triggered a revolution in air travel and represents a significant milestone in the evolution of aviation design.