US's Most Capable Fighter Makes 12 MiG Planes Back Down Without Firing a Shot



The initial conflict to expel the Iraqi troops from Kuwait began with an aerial and naval bombardment on January 17, 1991. Some of the first American aircraft to fly over the Iraqi skies that morning were four F-14 Tomcats from United States Navy Strike Fighter Squadron 32.

The Tomcat pilots had strict orders to stay with their strike team to protect electronic warfare and other aircraft at all costs instead of chasing and engaging enemy aircraft.

But when 12 airborne enemy aircraft approached the formation, the American pilots had to think fast.

It was the very first day of Operation Desert Storm, and what the dozen Iraqi fighters did next took everyone by surprise…

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49 thoughts on “US's Most Capable Fighter Makes 12 MiG Planes Back Down Without Firing a Shot”

  1. I cannot really figure out why the F 14 was discontinued: lack of maneuverability, the Phoenix missile becoming obsolete, and aging airframes? As far as payload, sensor upgrades, and range, absolutely nothing came close except for the F 15.

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  2. The Navy Still Has Not Filled the Gap in Stand off Range and Long Range Patrol Keeping the Cit as Far Away from the Carrier as Possible as That Plane did with 6 Phoenix Missiles the Meet-n-Greet took it way Beyond ! Multiple Situations of contact Where They wish they had what that Plane Could do 17 yr Gap You don't Leave your Prize Pony in the Stall When its time to Show Tomcat the Navies Eagle !

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  3. By any chance, were those F-14s with the skull and crossbone emblem on their vertical tails part of a "Jolly Rogers" Squadron? I ask because there was a US Naval squadron (VF-17) of F4U Corsairs that operated in the Solomon Island campaign in the Pacific during WW2. They had the same skull & crossbone emblem painted on the engine cowling and were known as "The Jolly Rogers".

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  4. Is it me or is the tomcat footage at 5:54 and onward, modified to look like Roy Fokker's VF-1s from the Robotech Macross anime? I can't make out the fuselage markings but the skull and crossbones tale is a giveaway.

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  5. If only Tom Cruise was on the defense committee, the Tomcat would still be flying 😂
    All joking aside, it was an amazing plane, I’m not an expert on the subject, but from what I understand the remaining Tomcats were decommissioned and shredded, if you check Google Earth, it looks like there are two F-14 fuselages and what looks two semi complete Tomcats at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.

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  6. All this because Bush told Hussein that whatever he did with Kuwait was "an Arab problem," and he wouldn't get involved…until the oil industry came calling, then he changed his mind (Mr. Waffle).

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  7. Wow there is a lot of comments pointing out the errors in this video… but anyway Air superiority belongs to the USA they dont wont none and theyre scared. PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN 💪🇺🇸

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  8. This brings back some memories. I flew the E-2C Hawkeyes with VAW-126 off of the Kennedy during this time. We were incredibly lucky during that conflict because we lost no one on the entire ship as well as the air wing during that cruise/war. We were not so lucky the following year when we lost an E-2 to hydraulic failure/fire with all 5 crew members lost. I believe one of the F/A-18 squadrons lost their XO when he flew into the ground or at least hit something close to the ground during that same few weeks in the Puerto Rico Operating area. I was back home recovering from having a hole drilled into my skull to relieve a sinus block. So to this day I wonder how close I dodged the bullet when Closeout 602 went down. Ironically the plane had my name on it which freaked my family out a lot. Hard to believe that I left that squadron 30 years ago next month.

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  9. Ever since they came along, the F-14 Tomcat has always been my favorite fighter jet. They're the most beautiful thing in the air. I still have (most of) the model I bought in the 70s. I should find a new one, and do it up right…I didn't paint my model, and a couple of small parts have disappeared. I joined the navy in 1985, and am a plankowner for USS Theodore Roosevelt, where I finally got to see them close up. I'll never forget hanging out on vulture's row, watching night flights…while tripping on acid. I'm somewhat disappointed that they had to be replaced with something more modern, with capabilities they don't have, but that's what happens…time stops for no one.

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  10. Guessing you used some F-14 stock footage for your video. Those F-14's with the skull and cross bones are from VF-84 Jolly Rogers out of N.A.S. Oceana Verginia. I know I was in VA-35 whom now fly the F-18 Hornet, but at the time was still flying A-6 Intruders, AKA Iron Tadpoles. But the info was spot on.

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  11. I was in VF-124 (Top Gun) at Fighter town, NAS Miramar in 1974, and I felt pretty proud of our F1-14's, and when I was transferred to VF-1, aboard The Enterprise in 1975,
    I worked as a Plane Captain, on The Flight Deck, and the F-14 was designed very well for shipboard launch and recovery.

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  12. This story reminded me of the movie The Final Countdown. The F14s were in range of all the Jap planes going towards Pearl Harbor but were called back without firing a single shot. That frustrated the pilots and I think ruined the movie when the only reason for going back in time was to get that damned dog Charlie back for the CAGs wife. 😠 ok, I love dogs too. 😏

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  13. Perhaps the "Final Countdown" had someting to do with it when I was kid, but the Tomcat is still my favorite fighter. The sweep wings are still so cool. Such an amazing piece of engineering.

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