Roustaei was hired by the IIAF in 1970 and after 30 years of service, he was retired with the rank of colonel.[2] He served for some time as the chief operations officer of the 6th Tactical Fighter Base.[2] A U.S. trained pilot, he graduated from the AETC course at Laughlin Air Force Base in 1974.[2] He was subsequently certified with F-4D/E Phantom II, an aircraft he flew for 2200 hours before switching to F-14 Tomcat.[2] He flew a further 2086 hours with the latter.[2]
According to aviation author Kash Ryan, Roustaei's aerial victories verified by his logbooks and corroborated with other accounts include four using AIM-54 Phoenix missiles and one maneuver kill, against two MiG-23s, a MiG-21 and a pair of Dassault Mirage F1s. The details are as follows:[2]
| # |
Date |
Aircraft serial |
RIO |
Weapon |
Victim |
| 1 |
15 January 1981 |
3-6027 |
Capt. A. Jalal-Abadi |
AIM-54A |
MiG-23 |
| 2 |
5 October 1981 |
3-6036 |
1Lt. Ahmad R. Fereydouni |
AIM-54A |
MiG-23 |
| 3 |
26 October 1982 |
3-6078 |
1Lt. Reza Tahmasbi |
None |
MiG-21 |
| 4 |
7 August 1984 |
3-6055 |
Capt. Hossein Sayyari |
AIM-54A |
Mirage F-1EQ |
| 5 |
7 August 1984 |
3-6055 |
Capt. Hossein Sayyari |
AIM-54A |
Mirage F-1EQ |
