Military Thought and Behavioral Model of Shahid Sattari

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Supreme National Defense University; Deputy of the Research Institute for the Sciences and Doctrines of Sacred Defense, Tehran, Iran

2 Assistant Professor, National Defense University, Tehran, Iran.

3 Ph.D. in National Security Studies and Defense-Security Affairs Analyst

4 Ph.D. in Management and Secretary of the Sacred Defense Research Center, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

This study is an applied-developmental research conducted using a data-driven method within a qualitative framework. It involved the collection and analysis of non-numerical data to explore the concepts, perspectives, and military thoughts of Shahid Mansour Sattari during the Sacred Defense era. The research was carried out through an examination of documents left by him and interviews with subject-matter experts. The findings reveal that, contrary to the dominant theory of air warfare which defines superiority as possessing a larger number of more capable aircraft Shahid Sattari, through his strategic intelligence, demonstrated that employing flexible air defense systems as aerial cover could effectively support both ground and naval operations and potentially alter the outcome of war even without achieving air superiority. A key lesson in Shahid Sattari’s military philosophy was the paramount importance of flexibility, to the extent that it could be proposed as an additional principle among the established principles of war. Moreover, Shahid Sattari was among the practical founders of the concepts of self-sufficiency and self-reliance in the military doctrine of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In 1987, he established the Jihad of Self-Sufficiency, recognizing that the opportunity to receive assistance from other nations was minimal and that any external support was conditioned upon the interests of global powers. He was also one of the few Iranian military thinkers who appreciated the significance of history and historical studies in military affairs; therefore, he initiated the reopening of the Aviation Museum and the establishment of another museum at Qaleh-e-Morghi Airport.

Keywords

Strategic Defense Studies
Volume 23, Issue 101
November 2025
Pages 161-196

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics