The 3rd Tactical Air Base of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army is located 25 kilometers north of Hamedan. It was one of the most active bases of the Iranian Air Force during the Iran-Iraq War. H-3 was one of the most important operations in which this base took part.

In 1944, with the deployment of several “ Hawker Hind” aircraft to Hamedan, an air group⁠[1] was formed in the city, laying the foundation for the establishment of the 3rd Tactical Air Base. In October 1973, a number of F-4 Phantom aircraft arrived at the base, which had previously only housed F-5 fighter jets. With the arrival of the new aircraft, the F-5s were transferred to other bases.⁠[2]

Before the Islamic Revolution, this site was called “ Shahrokhi Base”. After the victory of the Revolution, it was renamed “ Hurr Base”.

Following the Paveh incident in 1979 and Imam Khomeini’ s order on August 18, 1979, to the armed forces to clear Kurdistan of the insurgents, one of the pilots from the Hurr Base, Major Muhammad Nojeh, along with his co-pilot, First Lieutenant Seyyed Muhammad Bashiri Moosavi, flew a mission to support the forces in Paveh. These forces, commanded by Mostafa Chamran (then head of the Irregular Warfare Headquarters), were resisting anti-revolutionary groups. During the operation, Nojeh’ s aircraft was hit by anti-revolutionary gunfire and crashed into a mountain in the Qeshlaq area between Paveh and Ravansar,⁠[3] and both the pilot and co-pilot were martyred. The name of Hurr Base was changed to “ Shahid Muhammad Nojeh Air Base” in honor of them.⁠[4]

After the victory of the Islamic Revolution, a number of political activists, party leaders, and Kurdish circles — who had either been in prison or had fled abroad during the previous regime — returned to the country. Under the slogan of autonomy for Kurdistan, they engaged in armed activities, recruitment, and organizational expansion. These groups created widespread clashes and unrest in the west, starting from cities such as Sanandaj and Marivan, and extending to other areas and military garrisons. As the unrest spread, Imam Khomeini (ra) called on the armed forces to use all their power to clear the Kurdistan region and restore security.⁠[5]

The Shahid Nojeh Base personnel played a significant role in suppressing these anti-revolutionary elements and establishing security in the region.⁠[6] Meanwhile, some political and military figures affiliated with the Pahlavi regime, including Shapour Bakhtiar, formed a group to overthrow the Islamic Republic. This group, under the name “ Saving Iran’ s Great Uprising” (acronymed NEQAB), planned the “ NEQAB Coup”.⁠[7]

At that time, the 3rd Tactical Air Base (Nojeh) was considered highly suitable for the coup plotters’ objectives due to several advantages. First, it had aircraft that could be armed with heavy weapons, giving it superiority over Mehrabad. Second, it was the closest base to Tehran. Third, it was located 60 kilometers from Hamedan and far from population centers. Fourth, the leaders of the air operation were fully familiar with the base’ s personnel and facilities.⁠[8]

The coup plotters intended to carry out their plan on July 12, 1980. However, three days before the coup, one of the participants, out of worry and anxiety, went to the home of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei (ra) (then Tehran’ s representative in the Islamic Consultative Assembly) and revealed the coup plan. On the same day, a headquarters was formed to neutralize the coup, and the plot was ultimately foiled.⁠[9]

Almost two months after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, the Iraqi army began sporadic violations of Iranian airspace and borders. This continued until 2 PM on September 22, 1980, when Iraq officially started the war by bombing Iranian Air Force bases and radar stations, some airports, and economic facilities.⁠[10] In this attack, part of the runway at the 3rd Tactical Air Base of Hamedan was also damaged.⁠[11] At the time, Lieutenant Colonel Qasem Poorgolchin was the commander of the base.⁠[12]

In response to the all-out Iraqi invasion, at 4 PM on the same day, the Iranian Air Force launched a retaliatory operation called “ Avalin Pasokh (First Response) ”. It was carried out by two flight groups flying from Nojeh Base and the 6th Tactical Air Base of Bushehr. Because it was Iran’ s first rapid reaction to the Iraqi attack, it became known as Operation Avalin Pasokh. In this operation, fighter jets from Hamedan Base bombed the Iraqi Al-Kut Air Base in Maysan Governorate.⁠[13]

The next day, September 23, 1980, Operation Kaman 99 was planned and executed with Nojeh Base at its center. 140 Iranian Air Force aircraft, 36 of which took off from Shahid Nojeh Base, bombed all Iraqi air bases and garrisons. This operation significantly undermined the Iraqi Air Force’ s capability. As a result, Iraq moved most of its fighter, bomber, and tanker aircraft to Al-Walid Air Base in the western part of the country near the Jordanian border. Iranian military experts then planned an operation to bomb this base as well. This operation, known as Operation H-3, was carried out on April 4, 1981. Using eight Phantom aircraft, pilots from Shahid Nojeh Base destroyed a large part of the Iraqi air fleet.⁠[14] In this raid, conducted in western Iraq near the Jordanian border, nearly 100 Iraqi fighter-bombers, transport planes, tankers, and passenger aircraft were destroyed. The operation left Iraq unable to conduct air operations for a long time.⁠[15]

In the summer of 1982, a summit of Non-Aligned Movement countries was scheduled to be held in Baghdad. The Iraqi government had assured participating countries of complete air safety over Iraq. Iranian Army commanders planned an operation to target strategic points in the city. Pilots from Nojeh Base were selected for this mission. On July 21, 1982, several Phantom aircraft, commanded by Abbas Doran, flew from the base, appeared over Baghdad, and bombed the Al-Doura Base, thereby making the city’ s airspace unsafe.⁠[16] On the return flight, Abbas Doran’ s aircraft was hit by Iraqi missiles. He guided the damaged plane toward the Al-Rashid Hotel, where the summit was going to be held, thereby destroying a large part of the building before being martyred.⁠[17] This mission canceled the summit in Iraq and was a major setback for the Iraqi regime.

Until the end of the Iran-Iraq War, the pilots from Nojeh Base played a key role in most military operations. With more than 14,000 operational sorties — including cross-border flights and air patrols — the base provided air support to the Army Ground Forces and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. In operations such as Fath al-Mubin, Beit al-Muqaddas, and Ramazan, two squadrons of Phantom aircraft carried out dozens of sorties to target Iraqi positions and shot down several Iraqi fighter jets. The last air operation conducted by Nojeh Base pilots was during Operation Mersad on July 26, 1988, in Kermanshah, to counter invading Iraqi forces and the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization members.⁠[18]

In 2019, Brigadier General Pilot Reza Khodaei was appointed commander of Shahid Nojeh 3rd Tactical Air Base.⁠[19]