IRGC Aerospace Force (IRGC-AF)

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force (IRGC-AF, also rendered as IRGC-ASF) is the branch of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards responsible for strategic missile forces, space launch operations, and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) programs. It is organizationally distinct from the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF), which operates conventional manned aircraft under the regular military (Artesh). The IRGC-AF reports directly to the IRGC Commander-in-Chief and, through him, to the Supreme Leader.

Command. As of the most recent confirmed reporting (2023-2024), Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh commanded the IRGC-AF. Hajizadeh has held the position since 2009 and is among the most publicly visible IRGC commanders, frequently appearing in state media to announce missile tests and operational milestones. His status during the current conflict is assessed but not independently confirmed.

Mission and structure. The IRGC-AF’s primary mission is strategic deterrence through the threat of massed ballistic and cruise missile strikes against regional adversaries — principally Israel and US forward-deployed forces in the Persian Gulf. The force maintains an arsenal assessed at 3,000+ ballistic and cruise missiles (IISS estimate), making it the largest missile force in the Middle East. The organizational structure includes missile brigades, a UAV command, a space division (responsible for Simorgh and Qased launch vehicles), and air defense units operating indigenous systems.

Underground infrastructure. A central element of IRGC-AF survivability doctrine is the “Underground Missile City” program — hardened tunnel complexes carved into Iran’s mountain ranges. The IRGC has publicly released footage of at least three such facilities since 2015, showing rows of mobile launchers and stacked missile canisters inside reinforced tunnels. These facilities are designed to survive airstrikes and enable rapid reload and dispersal. Western intelligence assesses there are additional unrevealed sites.

Deterrence posture. Iran’s missile doctrine relies on volume and saturation rather than individual missile precision. The IRGC-AF’s operational concept envisions massed salvos intended to overwhelm missile defense systems such as Patriot, THAAD, and Arrow. The October 2024 “True Promise II” operation — in which Iran launched assessed 180+ ballistic missiles at Israel — demonstrated this doctrine in practice. The force has progressively improved accuracy through the introduction of MaRV-equipped systems (Emad, Kheibar Shekan) while maintaining large stocks of older area-effect weapons for saturation.

Dual chain of command. Unlike the regular military, the IRGC-AF operates under a parallel command structure that answers to the Supreme Leader’s office rather than the civilian Ministry of Defense. This gives the missile force political independence from elected government and positions it as the Supreme Leader’s direct instrument of strategic power projection.