Iran loses only AWACS aircraft?

[localhost127]

Up above a big military parade in Tehran on Tuesday, Sept. 22, as Iranian president declared Iran's armed forces would "chop off the hands" of any power daring to attack his country, two air force jets collided in mid-air. One was Iran's only airborne warning and control system (AWACS) for coordinating long-distance aerial operations, DEBKAfile's military and Iranian sources disclose.

The proud military parade, which included a march-past, a line of Shehab-3 missiles and an air force fly-past, was planned to give Ahmadinejad a dazzling send-off for New York and add steel to his UN Assembly speech Wednesday.

has anyone heard or can confirm this story?

DEBKAfile - Iran loses its only AWACS as Ahmadinejad threatens the world

 

[AegisFC]

Yes it has been confirmed.

Details here.
ASN Aircraft accident Ilyushin 76MD 5-8208 Varamin

The IRIAF Il-76MD "Simorgh" jet was destroyed in an accident near Tehran, killing all seven crew members. The "Simogorh" is an Il-76 jet modified with a radar dome on top of the fuselage for airborne early warning and control (AEW&C). It has been reported that the crew reported an engine fire. While maneuvering for an emergency landing at Tehran-Mehrabad Airport (THR) runway 29L the radar dome detached, striking the tail fin. Control was lost and the airplane crashed.

 

[GI-Gizmo]

Iran IL-76 AWACS crash

Yes it is true, has been confirmed by many media sources and online sources. Iran has
lost it's only AWACS aircraft to an accident. A flyover featuring the IL-76 Simorgh AWACS
escorted by F-5E Tiger II fighters was suppose to be the aerial finale at the military parade
in Tehran that was celebrating the beginning of the Iran-Iraq War.. While the AWACS and
F-5 fighters were flying South of Tehran waiting to perform the flyover, a mid-air collision
occured and both aircraft went down in flames. The collision seems to of happened very
quickly as no distress or mayday calls were recieved from either cockpit, although another
report says that the AWACS tried to make an emergency landing, but the radar dome came
apart and hit the tail causing a crash. The debris and wreckege from both aircraft reportedly
landed on the mausoleum burial site of the Islamic revolution's founder Ruhollah Khomeini,
a national shrine. All seven crewmembers were killed.
The IL-76 Simorgh AWACS was one of three aircraft built by Iraq in the 1980s, one was destroyed on the ground by coalition airpower during the 1991 Gulf War and the other two
were flown to Iran to escape destruction. The remaining AWACS that crashed this week was just recently upgraded with the assistance of Russian technicians. New electronics and a
new unidentified radar with a reported range of 1,000 kilometers made the aircraft a valuable asset to the Iranian Air Force, it was officially launched in April 2008.

 

[Feanor]

Anyone have links to confirm that the AWACS was indeed modernized? I'm curious, because I seem to have missed that. And of the other AWACS... since you say two were flown to Iran, is it inoperational?