Action of June 5, 1984
Action of June 5, 1984 | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of Iran–Iraq War, Tanker War | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Saudi Arabia | Iran | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
13 F-15 Eagles | 13 F-4 Phantoms | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
None |
2 F-4 Phantoms lost 2 pilots killed |
On June 5, 1984, an air battle took place near Arabi Island in the Persian Gulf. Two Iranian Air Force F-4 Phantoms from Bushehr Air Base, had intruded into Saudi airspace, setting up for an attack on oil tankers. The planes were tracked by a United States Air Force E-3 Sentry AEW&C aircraft, which directed two patrolling Saudi F-15 Eagles armed with AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles to intercept the Iranians.[1]
The Saudis shot down one Iranian Phantom, killing 1st Lts Homayoun Hekmati & weapon systems officer Seyed Sirous Karimi. The second Iranian F-4 was damaged, and made an emergency landing at Kish Airport. The aircraft could not be repaired and was written off. This caused the Iranians to scramble 11 additional F-4s from Bushehr.
In response, the Royal Saudi Air Force scrambled 11 additional F-15s. Seeing this, the Iranians backed down, and the Saudis returned to base.[2][3]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Saudi F15 Fighters Down 2 Iranian Jets Over Persian Gulf". The Washington Post.
- ^ Smith, William E."Pushing the Saudis too far". Time, 18 June 1984. Retrieved: 26 January 2008.
- ^ Halloran, Richard. "2 Iranian fighters reported downed by Saudi Air Force". The New York Times, 6 June 1984, p. 1. Retrieved: 26 January 2008.
- Aerial operations and battles of the Iran–Iraq War
- Aerial operations and battles involving Saudi Arabia
- Military operations of the Iran–Iraq War in 1984
- 1984 in Saudi Arabia
- Iran–Saudi Arabia military relations
- Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict
- Air-to-air combat operations and battles
- 1984 in aviation
- June 1984 events in Asia
- Foreign relations during the Iran–Iraq War