Madagascar‑Registered UDAAN Used as Front for Iran to Acquire Five Boeing 777s

In a dramatic expose, several international aviation authorities have confirmed that Iran has secretly added five Boeing 777‑200ER widebodies to its fleet by routing them through a Madagascar‑registered shell entity named UDAAN Aviation, in apparent defiance of U.S. and EU sanctions.

How the Scheme Unfolded

• In January 2025, Madagascar’s Civil Aviation Authority provisionally registered five B‑777s to UDAAN Aviation using the 5R‑registration prefix (5R‑RIS, ­ISA, ­HER, ­IJA, ­RIJ), supposedly to ferry them to Kenya for maintenance.
• The registrations expired on April 17, 2025, but documents were later fraudulently extended until July 12, 2025, according to Malagasy officials, enabling the aircraft to fly illegally to Iran.
• Ferry flights reportedly departed from Cambodia’s Siem Reap Airport on July 15, with transponders switched off mid‑flight over Afghanistan/Pakistan to avoid tracking before landing in Zahedan, Chah Bahar, and Mashhad, Iran.
• The five aircraft, previously in service with Singapore Airlines and NokScoot, then stored in Australia, are believed to now bolster the fleet of Mahan Air, Iran’s IRGC‑linked carrier already under U.S. sanctions since 2011

Who Is UDAAN Aviation?

• The Civil Aviation Authority of Madagascar (ACM) issued Provisional Registration Certificates (CIP) to UDAAN Aviation on January 17, 2025, intended to allow ferry flights of five B777 aircraft to a maintenance facility in Kenya, on condition the jets underwent physical inspection in Madagascar first.
• While ACM issued the permit, UDAAN Aviation never operated flights in or out of Madagascar, and its ICAO/airline certification remains untraceable—suggesting it functioned as a paper shell rather than a viable Malagasy airline
• Madagascar’s authorities have opened criminal proceedings against UDAAN for forgery, falsification of documentation, and threats to national security.

This unfolding saga shows how a seemingly innocuous start‑up in Madagascar registered as UDAAN Aviation, masked a strategic transfer of five Boeing 777s to Iran’s Mahan Air, deftly bypassing decades of aviation sanctions through fraudulent documentation and international relay points.