Action of June 5, 1984

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]

Action of June 5, 1984
Part of Iran–Iraq War, Tanker War
DateJune 5, 1984
Location
Result Saudi Arabian victory
Belligerents
 Saudi Arabia  Iran
Strength
Saudi Arabia 13 F-15 Eagles Iran 13 F-4 Phantoms
Casualties and losses
None 2 F-4 Phantoms lost
2 pilots killed

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

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References

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  1. ^ "Saudi F15 Fighters Down 2 Iranian Jets Over Persian Gulf". The Washington Post.
  2. ^ Smith, William E."Pushing the Saudis too far". Time, 18 June 1984. Retrieved: 26 January 2008.
  3. ^ Halloran, Richard. "2 Iranian fighters reported downed by Saudi Air Force". The New York Times, 6 June 1984, p. 1. Retrieved: 26 January 2008.