The Iraqi Ambush America Never Talks About

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On January 16, 1991, the Gulf War began when an international coalition of 39 nations responded decisively to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. In the opening hours, coalition aircraft struck Iraq’s air defense systems and command networks, crippling its ability to respond.

At the time, the Iraqi Air Force was the sixth largest in the world. But within days, it was overwhelmed. Many Iraqi jets were lost in the early hours of combat, and hundreds more were destroyed on the ground. Facing near-total air superiority by the coalition, Saddam Hussein ordered a mass evacuation of Iraqi aircraft to neighboring Iran, hoping to preserve them for the future.

To block escape routes, the U.S. Air Force deployed F-15 Eagles on patrol along the Iranian border, trapping Saddam's Air Force inside the country. In response, Iraq launched an ambitious counter-operation: “Operation Samurra”. The plan set the stage for a rare head-to-head clash between two Cold War icons—the MiG-25 Foxbat and the F-15 Eagle.

The F-15 Eagle, built by the United States, was a cutting-edge fighter designed with state-of-the-art avionics, radar systems, and precision weapons. It represented the peak of Western air superiority doctrine. The MiG-25 Foxbat on the other hand was an interceptor built by the Soviet Union. By the 1990s, it was hopelessly outdated but still incredibly fast and dangerous in the right hands. Where the Eagle was refined and sophisticated, the Foxbat was an instrument of brute force.

What followed was one of the most surprising aerial encounters of the Gulf War, with an outcome few could have expected.