Russian media with reference to Iranian dissident and defence expert Babak Taghvaee, reported that Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) had officially asked Iran to provide access to deploy its heavy bombers in Hamedan Air Base.
According to report, Russin MoD asked Iranian government to provide access to the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force’s 3rd Tactical Fighter Base in Hamedan to deploy its heavy bombers (probably Tu-22M3 or Tu-95MS), Il-78 tankers & use it as refueling point for fighter jets which are planned to be deployed to Syria soon.
The deployment of Russian combat aircraft in Iran is possible against the background of escalated tensions in Syria.
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It is worth noting that Russian heave bombers operating from Engels and Modzok airbases in southwestern Russia, the aircraft had to cover a distance close to 3,000 km. Russia could deploy it’s bombers to the Hamadan airfield in Iran to cut flight times, increase bomb capacity and improve response capabilities of its aircraft.
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On August 15 in 2016, an undisclosed number of the Tupolev Tu-22M3s and the Sukhoi Su-34s were already deployed at Hamadan, but after Russians deliberately leaked pictures of their bombers in the base, they were forced to leave.