[1][2] After serving his compulsory military service in the Army Artillery branch, he joined the Iranian Military Academy and entered the Imperial Iranian Air Force in 1965 in the Ground Force branch.

He implemented many innovative plans to improve radar and counterattack systems that was learnt from the U.S. Air Forces, which proved helpful in disabling offensive capacities of the Iraqi Air Force during the Iran-Iraq War.

In 1986, after reaching the rank of Colonel, he was appointed the Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force.

On January 5, 1995 an Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) Lockheed JetStar crashed near Isfahan during an emergency landing, killing all 12 on board including General Mansour Sattari, commander of the IRIAF.

[3] The Iranian Sattar missile and Shahid Sattari Aeronautical University were named after him.