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During the 1991 Gulf War and subsequent operations in no-fly zones over Iraq, Coalition air forces faced the Iraqi Air Force (IQAF), the fourth largest air force in the world at the time. In the opening days of the war, many air-to-air engagements occurred, between Iraqi interceptors and a variety of different Coalition aircraft.
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During the 1991 Gulf War and subsequent operations in no-fly zones over Iraq, Coalition air forces faced the Iraqi Air Force (IQAF), the fourth largest air force in the world at the time. In the opening days of the war, many air-to-air engagements occurred, between Iraqi interceptors and a variety of different Coalition aircraft.
Shortly after the Coalition air campaign began, ten United States Navy F/A-18C Hornets from the carrier USS Saratoga were on a mission targeting Iraqi radars when the flight leader, Cdr. Mike Anderson, spotted what he believed to be an Iraqi MiG-25PD taking off. The MiG was piloted by Lt. Col. Zuhair Dawoud, who had been scrambled at 0238 hrs. to intercept the Hornet formation. Although Anderson was certain the aircraft he had seen climbing was hostile, the AWACS controller denied him permission to fire, as they were unable to verify that the aircraft was Iraqi. Anderson locked his radar onto Dawoud, who responded by executing a defensive turn.
The two circled one another as Anderson awaited firing clearance, but Dawoud shut off his jet's afterburners, causing Anderson to lose sight of him, and fled eastward. Dawoud then resumed his intercept, and from a distance of 29 km, fired an R-40 missile at the last F/A-18C in the formation, flown by Lt. Cdr. Scott Speicher. At 0250, the missile impacted Speicher's F/A-18C. Speicher ejected, but did not survive. Other members of Speicher's formation witnessed the explosion, but were unsure what had caused it. They later discovered Speicher and his aircraft to be missing, and deduced he had been shot down by the MiG.
On the opening night of the war, United States Air Force (USAF) F-15C Eagles were tasked with sweeping for Iraqi fighters, forming a protective wall for coalition aircraft that were leaving Iraqi airspace. Two 58th Tactical Fighter Squadron four-ship flights took part, under the callsigns 'Citgo' and 'Penzoil'. The latter flight consisted of Capts. Rick “Kluso” Tollini, Larry Pitts, Jon Kelk, and Mark Williams. At roughly 0305 hrs., AWACS alerted the F-15 flights, still forming over Saudi Arabia, that Iraqi fighters were airborne. The F-15s pushed northward, and were vectored towards Iraqi fighters.
As he flew farther into Iraqi airspace, Kelk detected a contact on radar, about 35 miles from him. The contact locked onto Kelk. Once Kelk was able to verify that the contact was an enemy, he launched an AIM-7 Sparrow missile, and performed evasive maneuvers while releasing chaff to confuse the enemy radar. As the two aircraft closed to 10 miles, Kelk observed a purple-white flash of light that lasted a few seconds. Intelligence later concluded Kelk had shot down an Iraqi MiG-29. He thus became the first American pilot credited with a kill in the F-15.
'Citgo' flight was tasked with patrolling for Iraqi fighters in the vicinity of Mudaysis Air Base, as well as H-2 and H-3 airfields. The flight leader, Capt. Rob Graeter, noticed three aircraft taking off and climbing as he approached Mudaysis. Graeter descended from his altitude of 30,000 ft. to the mid-20,000s. Once he verified the identity of one of the contacts, he fired an AIM-7, from a distance of about 10 miles. He saw the missile detonate and bring down the Iraqi jet, a Mirage F1, and saw the wreckage hit the ground. Shortly thereafter, while looking for another Mirage, he saw another aircraft hit the ground and explode.
At roughly the same time, a USAF EF-111A Raven "Spark Vark", flown by pilot Captain James Denton and Electronic Warfare Officer (EWO) Captain Brent Brandon, was on an electronic warfare mission ahead of a group of jets on a bombing run. They passed between H-2 and H-3 airfields. An Iraqi Mirage pursued them, and as Denton performed an evasive turn to the left, Brandon spotted an incoming missile. Denton reversed to the right, dispensing chaff and causing the missile to miss.
As they flew close to the desert floor, the Raven crew claim they saw the Mirage crash, ahead of them and to the right. Denton and Brandon were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Their account is disputed, because one Al-Jabbouri, a Mirage F1 pilot confirmed to be alive just before the Iraq War of 2003, claimed an EF-111 crashed into the ground while attempting to evade a missile he had fired.
Some sources believe the explosion the Raven crew saw was the second Mirage Graeter had seen go down, but in an interview for F-15C Units in Combat, Graeter did not remember any EF-111s being in the area. He was credited with a second kill. Both the American and the Iraqi accounts of the engagement between the EF-111 and the Mirage were disputed by an article in the publication "War is Boring".
Meanwhile, Capt. Steve Tate led 'Quaker' flight, a group of four F-15Cs protecting strike aircraft in the east. While he and his wingman were patrolling at 10,000 ft. around Al Jawah Air Base, Tate detected an aircraft about 16 miles from him. As he closed to 12 miles, Tate verified the contact was an Iraqi F1, and launched an AIM-7. The Mirage did not maneuver, and Tate saw the Mirage explode and burning wreckage falling.
On the opening night of the war two Iraqi MiG-29s attempted to engage a flight of USAF F-15E Strike Eagles. One of the MiGs crashed while flying at low altitude but the other MiG pressed on. One of the F-15Es fired an AIM-9 Sidewinder when the MiG locked him up but missed. Several other F-15Es simultaneously tried to engage the lone MiG-29 but were unable to get the kill. One F-15E was actually flying past the Iraqi jet and maneuvered in for the kill but the pilot hesitated to take the shot because he was unsure of his wingmen's location and because he did not get a good tone from the Sidewinder missile.
Two IQAF MiG-25s fired missiles at a group of F-15Cs escorting a bombing run in Iraq. The F-15Cs evaded the missiles and gave chase, but were forced to give up when the MiGs outran them. They had fired a total of ten missiles at the MiGs.
An Iraqi MiG-23 fired a R-24T missile at an F-111 Aardvark on a bombing run and scored a hit, although the bomber made it safely back to base. Another similar incident occurred with the same Iraqi interceptor several minutes later, this F-111 also made it back to base despite the severe damage to the aircraft. This is Iraq's only success of the Gulf War using MiG-23s.
Four F/A-18Cs from VFA-81 'Sunliners' were on a mission to strike H3 airfield. While en route, an E-2C Hawkeye AEW aircraft alerted them to the presence of two Iraqi MiG-21s. Lt. Cdr. Mark Fox quickly locked on to one of the MiGs, and launched an AIM-9 Sidewinder. Fox lost sight of the missile, and followed with an AIM-7. The AIM-9 brought down the MiG, with the AIM-7 hitting the falling wreckage. Piloting another of the F/A-18s was Nick Mongillo, who downed the other MiG with an AIM-7. In forty seconds, the F/A-18s had shot down both MiGs without jettisoning their bombs.
On the afternoon of January 17, a large USAF strike package was launched to hit Iraqi airfields and a chemical and biological warfare research facility. Capt. Chuck Magill, a pilot on exchange from the United States Marine Corps, led a group of F-15Cs to protect the strike force. After they entered Iraqi airspace, Magill's flight was informed of two Iraqi MiG-29s patrolling at low altitude and speed, southwest of the target area. As they closed to about 40 miles of the MiGs, Iraqi surface-to-air missiles (SAM) fired at the F-15s, disrupting the F-15s' pursuit, but hitting none of them.
As the F-15s closed in, the MiGs climbed and accelerated towards them. Because the MiGs were closely spaced, the F-15 pilots had difficulty sorting them. As a result, Capt. Rhory Draeger fired an AIM-7 at the MiG on the opposite side from him, and crossed over Magill's jet. Magill fired an AIM-7 at the other MiG, but the missile appeared to be off-course, so he followed with a second missile. As they closed to 7 miles, the F-15 pilots sighted the MiGs. Draeger's missile hit its target in the cockpit. Magill's first missile hit the other MiG from below, in the wing area, and the second hit the falling wreckage.
Capt. Rick “Kluso” Tollini led a flight of F-15s assigned to protect USAF F-15Es, with the same wingmen he had flown with on 17 January. As the flight refueled from a tanker, AWACS warned them of Iraqi fighters 60 miles north of them. As the F-15s closed in on a pair of MiG-29s, they detected two more Iraqi planes farther north, trailing the first group. Tollini suspected the Iraqis were laying a trap. As the first group flew away, his flight attempted to engage the second flight, consisting of two MiG-25s.
As Tollini and Capt. Kelk locked on to the two MiG-25s, at around 30 miles distance, the MiGs immediately turned and descended, and the F-15 pilots lost track of them completely. Eventually, Pitts spotted one of the MiGs flying at low altitude from his left to right. He performed a split-S turn, putting him behind the MiG, and enduring 12 Gs in the process. With Pitts' F-15 close behind, the Iraqi pilot began turning. Pitts expended several missiles before finally bringing down the MiG with an AIM-7.
Meanwhile, Capt. Williams located the second MiG, 8 miles south of the F-15s. Tollini positioned himself behind the aircraft but was unsure whether it was the MiG, or an F-15. Noticing the aircraft's afterburner flame, Tollini ordered the other members of his flight to shut their afterburners off. The aircraft in front of Tollini did not do so, and seeing the missile pylons under its wings, he became certain it was the MiG. He launched an AIM-7 which exploded underneath the MiG, and caused it to disintegrate.
It has been claimed by some sources that a Royal Air Force Tornado GR1 (ZA467) crewed by Squadron Leaders Gary Lennox and Adrian Weeks was shot down on 19 January by an R-60MK (NATO reporting name: AA-8 Aphid) missile fired from an Iraqi MiG-29 piloted by Jameel Sayhood, however this aircraft is officially recorded as having crashed on 22 January on a mission to Ar Rutbah.
As coalition strike aircraft flew back towards Saudi Arabia, they requested fighter support to ensure Iraqi aircraft did not pursue them. As Tollini’s flight was also returning to base, the task fell to a flight of F-15s led by Capt. Cesar Rodriguez, protecting AWACS and tanker aircraft over Saudi airspace. Rodriguez and Capt. Craig Underhill split off from the group, and flew into Iraq. They detected two MiG-29s in the vicinity of H-2 airfield, but the MiGs broke away from the F-15s, apparently trying to lure them towards SAMs around Baghdad.
The F-15s turned away from the SAM threat, but AWACS called out another contact 13 miles from them. The F-15s turned to meet the threat, which locked onto Rodriguez’s aircraft. Underhill, with the help of a SIGINT aircraft, identified the aircraft as a MiG-29, as Rodriguez performed evasive maneuvers and dispensed chaff. Underhill launched an AIM-7. Rodriguez, now 4 miles from the MiG, saw the missile pass over his jet, and destroy the MiG.
Unbeknownst to the F-15 pilots, another MiG-29 had been trailing few miles behind the first. As Rodriguez and Underhill sought to refuel from a tanker, AWACS called out the second MiG, 10 miles to their north and directly behind them. Underhill’s radar mistakenly identified the contact as a friendly, forcing the F-15 pilots to get closer to visually identify it. As the MiG made a series of turns, Rodriguez flew directly towards the contact, while Underhill climbed.
As Rodriguez passed the aircraft, he recognized it as an Iraqi MiG-29, and both he and the MiG broke left. Underhill continued flying overhead, seeking an opportunity to re-engage. Rodriguez gained a slight advantage, but was unable to get into position to employ his weapons. The two aircraft descended to very low altitude, forcing the MiG pilot to make a desperate move to escape; he began a split s maneuver, but was unable to pull out before hitting the ground.
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