Project Dark Gene
Encyclopedia
Project Dark Gene was an active, aerial espionage program run by the CIA and Imperial Iranian Air Force
from bases inside Iran
against the Soviet Union
. The program was run in conjunction with Project Ibex, which was a more traditional ELINT mission. The first operations were during the 1960s with support of Iran's former Shah. Dedicated aircraft, air-bases and US personnel were stationed at numerous sites in Iran and would regularly fly across the border into the USSR through potential holes in their radar coverage. The intention of the program was to test the effectiveness of Soviet air defence and interception and resulted in one confirmed and possibly more combat losses in engagements with Soviet aircraft.
The Shah of Iran, a staunch US ally, who came to power with assistance from the CIA, offered to fund military intelligence operations against the USSR as part of the Cold War
. The Shah feared the Soviet Union, in particular their relationship with neighbouring rival Iraq. However, at the same time, the CIA, Rockwell International
and Iranian businessman Albert Hakim
who would later go on to become involved in the Iran Contra Affair paid major bribes to senior members of the Shah's government and defence establishment to get the necessary funding.
According to US Embassy cables during the operations the Shah and Iran were of great importance to the USA, in part due the close relations between the Iranian government and Iran's proximity to the USSR. In response to a request by the Shah to speed up a similar arms deal the US Embassy in Tehran advised; "Decision should also not overlook or underestimate importance of Iran for vital US national interests." The Embassy suggested that deliveries of an aircraft type to European Allies and even to the USAF should be considered for diversion to Iran due to the strength of this relationship and the urgency of the issue.
Operation Dark Gene and Operation Ibex were two ways the Iranians could help due to their strategic location, between the USSR and the Persian Gulf. The terrain (deep valleys) in the area offered the program a unique advantage as Soviet radar coverage had major holes. At first US pilots flying Iranian aircraft operated independently but over time Iranian personnel became more involved.
At a point, during the operations, due to the risk of pilots ejecting over the USSR, excuses were worked out to explain why US pilots were found flying combat aircraft over the Soviet Union. The excuse they settled on was that the USAF pilots were training IIAF pilots in their new aircraft and simply got lost. Typically by this stage an Iranian would pilot while a USAF officer would navigate.
As the operations continued, the US provided the Iranian Air Force with advanced aircraft that were not offered to anyone else at the time such as the F-14. These operations ended with the Iranian Revolution
and it is assumed that the ELINT equipment was ceded to the successor Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force. The project however, according to Gene Wheaton was ceded to Saudi Arabia as part of their $8 billion AWACS deal.
On the 28th of August, 1976 three managers working on the project were killed while driving through Tehran. The killings were initially blamed on Libyan Marxists but Gene Wheaton, the security chief at the time later admitted that they were killed due to corruption in the project. Gene Wheaton was the IBEX and Dark Gene Director of Security. He ran an investigation into those involved in the project, finding that four had a historical record of corruption, including then head of the Military Assistance Advisory Group
in Iran, Richard Secord
. These complaints were passed on to George Bush
who was at the time the head of the CIA.
John Harper became Director of Security after Wheaton and was told by Frank Terpil after the killings that the Rockwell employees had been taken care of. The allegation was that the people involved in the project were in fact involved in the corruption and were skimming from funds assigned to it and ordered the killings to cover up their complicity.
missile at the Iranian aircraft, failing to destroy it. He pressed his attack, attempting to use his guns, only to find out that they were not functioning. Getting permission from ground control to attack in this manner he continued by ramming the Iranian aircraft and losing his life in the process. He struck the RF-4C's tail assembly with his wing. This was the first deliberate jet to jet ramming by a Soviet aircraft during an interception, a practice common in the propellor age of WW2. Eliseev was posthumously awarded as a Hero of the Soviet Union
. The crew of the RF-4C aircraft were captured by Soviet ground forces and released after 16 days.
strayed into the Soviet Union while training. One was damaged and one shot down by a Soviet Pilot in a MiG-23 Flogger. The interception was possibly due to Project Dark Gene as the Soviets had increased their air defences on the Iranian border in response to prior provocation.
Most of the following aircraft had custom electronic warfare packages installed for their missions. The Boeing 707s for example had 13 man crews operating internal surveillance equipment. Broadband and Narrow band receivers were used.
History of the Iranian Air Force
The history of the Iranian Air Force can be divided into two phases - before the Islamic Revolution, and after it.-Imperial era: The Imperial Iranian Air Force was a branch of the Imperial Iranian Armed Forces and was established by Reza Shah, the Shah of Iran, in 1920. It became operational with...
from bases inside Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
against the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. The program was run in conjunction with Project Ibex, which was a more traditional ELINT mission. The first operations were during the 1960s with support of Iran's former Shah. Dedicated aircraft, air-bases and US personnel were stationed at numerous sites in Iran and would regularly fly across the border into the USSR through potential holes in their radar coverage. The intention of the program was to test the effectiveness of Soviet air defence and interception and resulted in one confirmed and possibly more combat losses in engagements with Soviet aircraft.
Operation Details and Background
In places like Indo-China, direct confrontation between the USA and USSR was occurring or brewing. Usually confrontation was limited to proxy wars but these often involved the use, by the proxy states of advisers, trainers and other specialised personnel. After the Korean War the USA undertook a series of direct reconaiscence flights over the Soviet Union, some at the time secret and highly successful and others that resulted in shoot downs and tense diplomacy such as the 1960 U-2 incident. In order to continue gathering intelligence, the USA needed to develop more and more sophisticated methods as the Soviet Defence became more advanced. Developments like the SR-71 Blackbird and satellites were fueled by this.The Shah of Iran, a staunch US ally, who came to power with assistance from the CIA, offered to fund military intelligence operations against the USSR as part of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. The Shah feared the Soviet Union, in particular their relationship with neighbouring rival Iraq. However, at the same time, the CIA, Rockwell International
Rockwell International
Rockwell International was a major American manufacturing conglomerate in the latter half of the 20th century, involved in aircraft, the space industry, both defense-oriented and commercial electronics, automotive and truck components, printing presses, valves and meters, and industrial automation....
and Iranian businessman Albert Hakim
Albert Hakim
Albert Hakim was an Iranian businessman and a figure in the Iran-Contra affair.Born in Iran, Hakim attended California Polytechnic Institute for 3 years, beginning in 1955. Back in Iran, he established an export business specializing in advanced technologies, and in avoiding export restrictions...
who would later go on to become involved in the Iran Contra Affair paid major bribes to senior members of the Shah's government and defence establishment to get the necessary funding.
According to US Embassy cables during the operations the Shah and Iran were of great importance to the USA, in part due the close relations between the Iranian government and Iran's proximity to the USSR. In response to a request by the Shah to speed up a similar arms deal the US Embassy in Tehran advised; "Decision should also not overlook or underestimate importance of Iran for vital US national interests." The Embassy suggested that deliveries of an aircraft type to European Allies and even to the USAF should be considered for diversion to Iran due to the strength of this relationship and the urgency of the issue.
Operation Dark Gene and Operation Ibex were two ways the Iranians could help due to their strategic location, between the USSR and the Persian Gulf. The terrain (deep valleys) in the area offered the program a unique advantage as Soviet radar coverage had major holes. At first US pilots flying Iranian aircraft operated independently but over time Iranian personnel became more involved.
At a point, during the operations, due to the risk of pilots ejecting over the USSR, excuses were worked out to explain why US pilots were found flying combat aircraft over the Soviet Union. The excuse they settled on was that the USAF pilots were training IIAF pilots in their new aircraft and simply got lost. Typically by this stage an Iranian would pilot while a USAF officer would navigate.
As the operations continued, the US provided the Iranian Air Force with advanced aircraft that were not offered to anyone else at the time such as the F-14. These operations ended with the Iranian Revolution
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the...
and it is assumed that the ELINT equipment was ceded to the successor Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force. The project however, according to Gene Wheaton was ceded to Saudi Arabia as part of their $8 billion AWACS deal.
Project Ibex
Project Ibex was closely linked to Project Dark Gene. The same airfields were used and operations were often run in conjunction. In essence they can be considered the same operation, each with separate and overlapping objectives. One of the advantages of operating them together was the ELINT data that could be gathered when Soviet Air Defences were activated by a Project Dark Gene aircraft that was detected. The resulting emissions and activity would be recorded by Project Ibex aircraft on the Iranian side of the border.On the 28th of August, 1976 three managers working on the project were killed while driving through Tehran. The killings were initially blamed on Libyan Marxists but Gene Wheaton, the security chief at the time later admitted that they were killed due to corruption in the project. Gene Wheaton was the IBEX and Dark Gene Director of Security. He ran an investigation into those involved in the project, finding that four had a historical record of corruption, including then head of the Military Assistance Advisory Group
Military Assistance Advisory Group
Military Assistance Advisory Group is a designation for American military advisers sent to assist in the training of conventional armed forces of Third World countries. Before and during the Vietnam War, there were three of these groups operating in Southeast Asia...
in Iran, Richard Secord
Richard Secord
Major General Richard V. Secord, Retired , is a United States Air Force officer convicted for his involvement with the Iran-Contra scandal only to be exonerated after a 1990 Supreme Court case found the statute used to be illegal....
. These complaints were passed on to George Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
who was at the time the head of the CIA.
John Harper became Director of Security after Wheaton and was told by Frank Terpil after the killings that the Rockwell employees had been taken care of. The allegation was that the people involved in the project were in fact involved in the corruption and were skimming from funds assigned to it and ordered the killings to cover up their complicity.
Combat
Around 4 aircraft involved in the project may have been lost to Soviet interceptors during the project. Two of the unconfirmed aircraft are RF-5A's piloted by USAF pilots, while a RF-5B with an IIAF pilot, one a reconnaissance mission is confirmed.Detailed incident
One instance of combat during Project Dark Gene was an engagement on November 28, 1973 between an RF-4C aircraft piloted by IIAF Major Shokouhnia and backseater USAF Colonel John Saunders and a Soviet MiG-21 flown by Captain Gennadii N. Eliseev. The Soviet pilot fired a Vympel K-13Vympel K-13
The K-13 is an short-range, infrared homing air-to-air missile developed by the Soviet Union. It is similar in appearance and function to the American AIM-9 Sidewinder from which it was reverse-engineered...
missile at the Iranian aircraft, failing to destroy it. He pressed his attack, attempting to use his guns, only to find out that they were not functioning. Getting permission from ground control to attack in this manner he continued by ramming the Iranian aircraft and losing his life in the process. He struck the RF-4C's tail assembly with his wing. This was the first deliberate jet to jet ramming by a Soviet aircraft during an interception, a practice common in the propellor age of WW2. Eliseev was posthumously awarded as a Hero of the Soviet Union
Hero of the Soviet Union
The title Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.-Overview:...
. The crew of the RF-4C aircraft were captured by Soviet ground forces and released after 16 days.
Similar incidents
In 1978, 4 Iranian Chinooks1978 Iranian Chinook shootdown
The 1978 Iranian Chinook shootdown was an incident on June 21, 1978, when four Boeing CH-47 Chinook of the Imperial Iranian Air Force strayed into Soviet airspace during a training mission, with the end result being that two of the aircraft were shot down by the PVO...
strayed into the Soviet Union while training. One was damaged and one shot down by a Soviet Pilot in a MiG-23 Flogger. The interception was possibly due to Project Dark Gene as the Soviets had increased their air defences on the Iranian border in response to prior provocation.
Equipment
Airbases involved were operated jointly by the CIA and IIAF and protected by land mines and razor wire. As part of the connection with IBEX there were 5 dedicated facilities for monitoring communications within the Soviet Union. Their contact with the outside world was maintained by air resupply only via de Havilland Canada DHC-4 aircraft. Special equipment was provided by Rockwell International and funding was largely provided by the Shah of Iran.Most of the following aircraft had custom electronic warfare packages installed for their missions. The Boeing 707s for example had 13 man crews operating internal surveillance equipment. Broadband and Narrow band receivers were used.
- McDonnell Douglas RF-4C/E
- Northrop RF-5A
- Boeing 707Boeing 707The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on...
- Lockheed C-130H
- de Havilland Canada DHC-4