Samurra Air Battle

Samurra Air Battle
Part of the air campaign of the Persian Gulf War
Date 30 January 1991 Location Khan Bani Saad, Iraq Result Inconclusive, see aftermath
Belligerents
United States	Iraq
Commanders and leaders
Lt. Col. Randy Bigum Capt. Thomas Dietz 1st Lt. Robert Hehemann 1st Lt. Lynn Broome	Capt. Mahmoud Awad Capt. Mohammed Jassim as-Sammarai
Strength
"Xerex 31": 2 F-15C "Xerex 33": 2 F-15C	No. 96 Sqn: 1 MiG-25 No. 97 Sqn: 1 MiG-25
Casualties and losses
1 F-15 damaged (Author's claim.)[1]	None

Operation Samurra was an operation by the Iraqi Air Force (IQAF) during the Gulf War to decisively engage McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagle fighters from the United States Air Force (USAF) using Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 interceptors, and break the "wall" of F-15s that the Coalition had established along Iraq's border with Iran. It demonstrated the last true offensive operation of the IQAF before grounding their air assets in an attempt to preserve them for future use. Through careful planning and coordination, two MiG-25 jets successfully caught two USAF F-15 fighters, of the 53rd Tactical Fighter Squadron out of Al Kharj Air Base, off guard and engaged them in a dogfight. After several minutes of aerial maneuvering and several fired missiles, the Iraqi jets returned to Tammuz Air Base undamaged, and the F-15s returned to Saudi Arabia, albeit with one damaged.