Iraqi AF victories during operation Desert Storm

[oldiaf]

Jan 17 MiG-25PD Pilot Lt. Zuhair Dawood squadron 96 Target F/A-18C / USN weapon R-40RD Confirmed

Jan 17 Mirage F.1EQ. Pilot Lt. Nafi Najim. Squadron 79 Target EF-111A / USAF weapon Magic-550 Confirmed by USAF on Feb 22 1991 to be crashed while evading enemy aircraft missile.

Jan 17 MiG-29A Pilot Capt. Khadr Ahjab Squadron 6 Target F-111F / USAF weapon R-60MK Damaged

Jan 17 MiG-29A Pilot Capt. Khadr Ahjab Squadron 6 Target B-52G / USAF weapon R-27R Damaged by AGM-88 Fired from F-4G according to USAF.

Jan 17 MiG-23ML Pilot Capt. Hosam Squadron 63 Target F-111F / USAF weapon R-24T Damaged

Jan 17 MiG-23ML Pilot Capt. Sami Squadron 63 Target F-111F / USAF weapon R-24T Damaged

Jan 17 MiG-29A Pilot Capt. Helal Squadron 6 Target MiG-23ML or MiG-29A / IrAF Weapon R-27R Fratricide - MiG-23ML Pilot Capt. Hasan Squadron 73 KIA Unknow who shut downed him - MiG-29A Pilot Ismael Squadron 6 damaged -
Missile target was an F-15E but missed and re- acquired the MiG.

Jan 19 MiG-29A Pilot Capt. Jameel Sayhood Squadron 39 Target Tornado GR.1 / RAF weapon R-60MK Confirmed

Jan 30 MiG-25PD Pilot Capt. Mohammed Alsamarai Squadron 96 Target F-15C / USAF Weapon R-40RD Damaged - according to USAF missile missed.

[old.iraqi.air.force]

Jan 17 MiG-29A Pilot Capt. Khadr Ahjab Squadron 6 Target B-52G / USAF weapon R-27R Damaged by AGM-88 Fired from F-4G according to USAF.

For this incident i recommend to read h-bomb comment on this thread:

Hello old.iraqi.air.force

I just did a quick search for the B-52G listed, it was not shot down. Actually I got to meet the US pilot who actually shot that aircraft with a HARM when I was assigned to the 48 FW / 561 FS, they had a B-52 stenciled in the wheel well.

#58-0248 AABC0462 CA Boeing B-52G Stratofortress 25-JAN-94 93rd Bomb Wing, Castle AFB, CA.

http://www.f-16.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=3110&start=15

Jan 17 MiG-23ML Pilot Capt. Sami Squadron 63

He is name not Sami.

Jan 17 MiG-29A Pilot Capt. Helal Squadron 6 Target MiG-23ML or MiG-29A / IrAF Weapon R-27R Fratricide - MiG-23ML Pilot Capt. Hasan Squadron 73 KIA Unknow who shut downed him - MiG-29A Pilot Ismael Squadron 6 damaged -
Missile target was an F-15E but missed and re- acquired the MiG.

Iraqi AF did not record any A-A friendly kill during DS 1991, Capt. Hassan took-off from Saad Airbase after 5 AM and Capt. Helal and Capt.Ismail took-off from airfield No 37 at 10 AM.

[oldiaf]

Then he must damaged his wingman Capt. Ismael MiG-29A ... As for the MiG-23ML may be was the one Capt. Graeter got and mistook it for Mirage F.1EQ ... Capt. Graeter Formation was over Saad ( H-2 ) AB.

[oldiaf]

http://www.f-111.net/t_no_A.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_D ... 111A_Raven
EF-111A was confirmed to be lost due to enemy action

[old.iraqi.air.force]

Then he must damaged his wingman Capt. Ismael MiG-29A ...pilot error or malfunction ...

No Capt. Helal fired his missile after the formation leader being hit and damaged.

As for the MiG-23ML may be was the one Capt. Graeter got and mistook it for Mirage F.1EQ ... Capt. Graeter Formation was over Saad ( H-2 ) AB

The MIG-23ML blow up while he just turned right with less than 2Km the aircraft scattering to small pieces, the Air to Air missile can not result this damaged (in my opinion the air defense kill him mistakenly) but it was war and the war was larger than anything else and it ended up without a diagnosis of the causative..

[oldiaf]

Then he must damaged his wingman Capt. Ismael MiG-29A ...pilot error or malfunction ...

No Capt. Helal fired his missile after the formation leader being hit and damaged.

As for the MiG-23ML may be was the one Capt. Graeter got and mistook it for Mirage F.1EQ ... Capt. Graeter Formation was over Saad ( H-2 ) AB

The MIG-23ML blow up while he just turned right with less than 2Km the aircraft scattering to small pieces, the Air to Air missile can not result this damaged (in my opinion the air defense kill him mistakenly) but it was war and the war was larger than anything else and it ended up without a diagnosis of the causative..

Capt. Graeter confirmed visually that he destroyed an Iraqi fighter ( he thought a Mirage F.1EQ ) with AIM-7 sparrow over H-2 AB in the first night ... He fired his AIM-7 from under 7nm ( thats 13Km) ... AIM-7 is larger than AIM-9 Sidewinder and carry larger warhead ... Interestingly he said the ( Mirage ) was just took off ... So probably this is the same MiG-23ML ...also both aircrafts have similar appearance ( 1 vertical stabilizer ) ..
But is it possible that this was the aircraft that the EF-111A crashed it to the ground thinking it was a Mirage F.1EQ ?!!

[oldiaf]

The F-15E that fired on the MiG-29A used an AIM-9 sidewinder but it was missed according to the crew ... Then they witnessed the friendly fire accident and they also said that the MiG-29 that fired the missile also crashed due to pilot error ... But it was dark and they might get confused because at the time of the engagement a scud missile was launched ( these F-15E ) were on scud hunting mission..and they were 12 aircrafts..

[oldiaf]

I will give an example how a MiG-23 can be confused to be a Mirage F1 and vice versa ... During Jan 24 attempt by Iraqi AF to bomb the Saudi oil terminal by 2 Mirages and 2 Refueling Mirages ... The AWACS recognized the refueling Mirages as MiG-23s !!!

[tomcooper]

Jan 17 MiG-23ML Pilot Capt. Hosam Squadron 63 Target F-111F / USAF weapon R-24T Damaged

Jan 17 MiG-23ML Pilot Capt. Sami Squadron 63 Target F-111F / USAF weapon R-24T Damaged

Both of these pilots actually engaged BQM-74C Chukar decoy drones.

[nikolaos]

When the aerial kill of the British Tornado was confirmed ?
I think that the British strongly deny the loss being an air kill and attribute it as flying accident that took place three days later.

[oldiaf]

When the aerial kill of the British Tornado was confirmed ?
I think that the British strongly deny the loss being an air kill and attribute it as flying accident that took place three days later.

I think some sort of confirmation surfaced in 2002 but I don't have the link ..... Please notice the US also mentions an EF-111A that crashed into Saudi Air space on Feb 13 while trying to evade AA missile fired by Iraqi Mirage ... by that time no Iraqi plane could dare to challenge .... In fact this accident took place in the first night of the war and reported almost 1 month later.

[tomcooper]

No EF-111A was shot down, and the RAF is denying the loss of any of its Tornados to IrAF too. There is no evidence in support of such claims.

...and, frankly (as always), there are literal 'mountains' of reasons for this.

The USAF had all the intel necessary to completely jam whatever the IrAF flew; EF-111s were the best-equipped aircraft to do exactly that; types like F-111E/Fs and F-15C/Es less so, but still 'more than a match'...

Reason: certain Russian named Adolf Tolkachev.

Tolkachev was one of leading engineers at the Scientific Research Institute of Radar ('NIIR' or 'NII Radar', meanwhile better known as Phazotron Design Bureau), back in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He provided minute intel on all major air-to-air and even most of surface-to-air systems of Soviet origin and then in service or still in development - to the CIA (before he was caught, in 1986). The intel in question was of such quality and importance, that it proved crucial for development of most of US means of electronic warfare in the 1980s.

...and so effective, that it de-facto 'killed' - made obsolete - all the Soviet combat aircraft starting with MiG-23MLs and MiG-25s. Thanks to Tolkachev, Americans knew everything about their radars, their air-to-air missiles, their ECM and ECCM capabilities etc. So much so, even Su-27s - not to talk about something as 'semi-finished' and easy to jam, like MiG-29 - were practically 'useless' before they entered service (because Tolkachev provided all the intel on their radars, weapons systems etc. before they entered service).

Sure, Tolkachev provided so much intel, that the CIA was working itself thorugh it well into the early 1990s. But, I doubt that the US intell didn't know about 'most important' of Iraqi weapons systems as of 1991. At least it's certain that the Soviets never recovered from this blow (for example: Sukhoi had to introduce over 10.000 changes on Su-27 to make it at least 'competitive' again): after all, the USN began using Tolkachev-sourced intel already in summer 1981, during ops against Libya...

Furthermore, in summer 1990, the French hosted an exercise that pitted two undelivered MIrage F.1EQ-5s vs F-14s and F/A-18s of the USN (indeed, the very Hornet flown by Speicher when he was shot down, was involved in that exercise too). That way, Americans knew absolutely everything they needed to know about Mirage F.1EQs too.

And because of this, there was only an absolutely minimal chance of Iraqis scoring against US aircraft, especially against EF-111, F-111s, F-15Cs and F-15Es - but Tornados too.

Exceptions were such situations like that chaos with Saratoga's formation during the first night of ops, and then another one - a few nights later - under similar circumstances (the latter is a little-known case about which I wonder all the time: why is NO Iraqi source ever talking about it...?)

[tomcooper]

Then he must damaged his wingman Capt. Ismael MiG-29A ...pilot error or malfunction ...

No Capt. Helal fired his missile after the formation leader being hit and damaged.

As for the MiG-23ML may be was the one Capt. Graeter got and mistook it for Mirage F.1EQ ... Capt. Graeter Formation was over Saad ( H-2 ) AB

The MIG-23ML blow up while he just turned right with less than 2Km the aircraft scattering to small pieces, the Air to Air missile can not result this damaged (in my opinion the air defense kill him mistakenly) but it was war and the war was larger than anything else and it ended up without a diagnosis of the causative..

Capt. Graeter confirmed visually that he destroyed an Iraqi fighter ( he thought a Mirage F.1EQ ) with AIM-7 sparrow over H-2 AB in the first night ... He fired his AIM-7 from under 7nm ( thats 13Km) ... AIM-7 is larger than AIM-9 Sidewinder and carry larger warhead ... Interestingly he said the ( Mirage ) was just took off ... So probably this is the same MiG-23ML ...also both aircrafts have similar appearance ( 1 vertical stabilizer ) ..
But is it possible that this was the aircraft that the EF-111A crashed it to the ground thinking it was a Mirage F.1EQ ?!!

erm... Greater was approaching Talha FOL when he engaged. And he didn't claim a 'kill' but a 'probable'.

His target was one of three scrambled from Talha FOL, and turning off to the north-west. The first two (flying about 10km in trail) turned left and attempted to chase F-15Es, the third was tracked flying north-west to H-2/Sa'ad AB (where it landed).

Greater fired from 17km (10nm) and he - and his wingman (Scott Maw) - saw a missile detonation approx 14km (8nm) south of Talha.

Greater had no clue what type of aircraft he engaged: his NCTR couldn't read the engine info because his F-15 was much higher above the target. It was the AWACS and then the Rivet Joint that concluded he's scored a kill and his target should've been a 'Mirage'.

Maw locked up the other Iraqi (i.e. not the same like that attacked by Greater) and his NCTR couldn't read target's enginees either, but this Iraqi turned away after Greater's Sparrow went off (whether when scoring a hit or if impacting the ground), and this turn brought him 'into the beam', which in turn meant that Maw lost his lock-on.

That 'aircraft that hit the ground' (and sighted by almost all the USAF fliers around, including the EF-111A-, F-15E, and F-15C-crews) did so about two minutes AFTER above-described engagement.

Now, US intel for such cases is as good as any other: sometimes 100% on the mark, other times terribly wrong. From my POV, the aircraft claimed by Greater could've been anything (OK, perhaps no Il-76 ).

Crucial here would be to find out: what three aircraft have scrambled from Talha FOL (not from H-2/Sa'ad AB), who flew them, and how long did each of them remain airborne (until either shoot down or landing)?

All other sorts of discussions are not even 'academic' by nature.

[oldiaf]

The only 2 sorties conducted from Talha AB ( as for my info ) were that of Major Tariq Saeed and Capt. Emad Mohammed Saeed both from Squadron 39 MiG-29 .... Both were shut downed and KIA ... I suppose by USAF F-15Cs of Draeger and Magill

[oldiaf]

No EF-111A was shot down, and the RAF is denying the loss of any of its Tornados to IrAF too. There is no evidence in support of such claims.

...and, frankly (as always), there are literal 'mountains' of reasons for this.

The USAF had all the intel necessary to completely jam whatever the IrAF flew; EF-111s were the best-equipped aircraft to do exactly that; types like F-111E/Fs and F-15C/Es less so, but still 'more than a match'...

Reason: certain Russian named Adolf Tolkachev.

Tolkachev was one of leading engineers at the Scientific Research Institute of Radar ('NIIR' or 'NII Radar', meanwhile better known as Phazotron Design Bureau), back in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He provided minute intel on all major air-to-air and even most of surface-to-air systems of Soviet origin and then in service or still in development - to the CIA (before he was caught, in 1986). The intel in question was of such quality and importance, that it proved crucial for development of most of US means of electronic warfare in the 1980s.

...and so effective, that it de-facto 'killed' - made obsolete - all the Soviet combat aircraft starting with MiG-23MLs and MiG-25s. Thanks to Tolkachev, Americans knew everything about their radars, their air-to-air missiles, their ECM and ECCM capabilities etc. So much so, even Su-27s - not to talk about something as 'semi-finished' and easy to jam, like MiG-29 - were practically 'useless' before they entered service (because Tolkachev provided all the intel on their radars, weapons systems etc. before they entered service).

Sure, Tolkachev provided so much intel, that the CIA was working itself thorugh it well into the early 1990s. But, I doubt that the US intell didn't know about 'most important' of Iraqi weapons systems as of 1991. At least it's certain that the Soviets never recovered from this blow (for example: Sukhoi had to introduce over 10.000 changes on Su-27 to make it at least 'competitive' again): after all, the USN began using Tolkachev-sourced intel already in summer 1981, during ops against Libya...

Furthermore, in summer 1990, the French hosted an exercise that pitted two undelivered MIrage F.1EQ-5s vs F-14s and F/A-18s of the USN (indeed, the very Hornet flown by Speicher when he was shot down, was involved in that exercise too). That way, Americans knew absolutely everything they needed to know about Mirage F.1EQs too.

And because of this, there was only an absolutely minimal chance of Iraqis scoring against US aircraft, especially against EF-111, F-111s, F-15Cs and F-15Es - but Tornados too.

Exceptions were such situations like that chaos with Saratoga's formation during the first night of ops, and then another one - a few nights later - under similar circumstances (the latter is a little-known case about which I wonder all the time: why is NO Iraqi source ever talking about it...?)

I will post the account of Capt. Jameel Sayhood as I had it since long time as well as Capt. Qasim Khalaf Hamad the other pilot who engaged the F-15Cs with him .....
Also I have the account of Lt. Nafi Najim the Mirage pilot who claimed the EF-111A and I will post it soon.
What other case ?? because I have an account of a MiG-25PD Pilot ( Capt. Mohammed Alsamarai ) with a wingman engaging 2 F-15Cs ( claiming to damage 1 ) then the 2 were engaged by another 4 F-15Cs ... Is this the one or else ? Anyhow I will post it too soon also.