Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21:
Arab-Israeli Conflicts
Arab-Israeli Conflicts
The MiG-21 was also used extensively in the Middle East conflicts of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s by the Egyptian Air Force, Syrian Air Force and Iraqi Air Force. The MiG-21 first encountered Israeli Mirage IIICs on 14 November 1964, but it was not until 14 July 1966 that the first MiG-21 was shot down. Another six Syrian MiG-21s were shot down by Israeli Mirages on 7 April 1967. MiG-21s also faced McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom IIs and Douglas A-4 Skyhawks, but were later outclassed by the more modern McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle and General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, which were acquired by Israel beginning in the mid-1970s. During this period, Syrian pilots flying Mig-21's also independently discovered the Cobra maneuver which became a standard defensive maneuver under the name "zero speed maneuver"
During the opening attacks of the 1967 Six-Day War, the Israeli Air Force struck Arab air forces in four attack waves. In the first wave, IDF aircraft claimed to have destroyed eight Egyptian aircraft in air-to-air combat, of which seven were MiG-21s; Egypt claimed five kills scored by MiG-21PFs. During the second wave Israel claimed four MiG-21s downed in air-to-air combat, and the third wave resulted in two Syrian and one Iraqi MiG-21s claimed destroyed in the air. The fourth wave destroyed many more Syrian MiG-21s on the ground. Overall, Egypt lost around 100 out of about 110 MiG-21s they had, almost all on the ground; Syria lost 35 of 60 MiG-21F-13s and MiG-21PFs in the air and on the ground.
Between the end of the Six-Day War and the start of the War of Attrition, IDF Mirage fighters had six confirmed kills of Egyptian MiG-21s, in exchange for Egyptian MiG-21s scoring two confirmed and three probable kills against Israeli aircraft. During this same time period, from the end of the Six Day War to the end of the War of Attrition, Israel claimed a total of 25 Syrian MiG-21s destroyed; the Syrians claimed three confirmed and four probable kills of Israel aircraft, although Israel denied these.
High losses to Egyptian aircraft and continuous bombing during the War of Attrition caused Egypt to ask the Soviet Union for help. In March 1970, Soviet pilots and SAM crews arrived with their equipment. On 13 April, during the air battle over the Red Sea coast, the Soviet MiG-21MFs, according to some data, shot down two Israeli F-4 fighters On 18 April, one Israeli scout RF-4E "Phantom" were damaged by Soviet MiG-21MF. On 16 May, an Israeli aircraft is shot down in air combat, probably by a Soviet MiG-21 On 22 June 1970, a Soviet pilot flying a MiG-21MF shot down an Israeli A-4E. After that, some more successful intercepts by Soviet pilots and another Israeli A-4 being shot down on 25 June.
Israel decided to plan an ambush (Operation Rimon 20) in response. On 30 July, Israeli F-4s lured Soviet MiG-21s into an area where they were ambushed by Mirages. Asher Snir, flying a Mirage IIICJ, destroyed a Soviet MiG-21; Avihu Ben-Nun and Aviam Sela, both piloting F-4Es, each got a kill, and an unidentified pilot in another Mirage scored the fourth kill against the Soviet-flown MiG-21s; while the IAF suffers no losses except a damaged Mirage. Three Soviet pilots were killed and the Soviet Union was alarmed by the losses. While a morale boosting achievement, Rimon 20 did not change the course of the war. After the operation, other IAF aircraft were lost to Soviet MiG-21s and SAMs. Few days later, on 7 August, the Soviets respond by luring Israeli fighter jets into a counter-ambush, downing two Israeli Mirage-IIICs and deploying more aircraft to Egypt, known as "Operation Kavkaz". Totally, during March – August 1970, Soviet MiG-21 pilots and SAM crews destroyed a total of 21 Israeli aircraft (eight by SA-3 missile systems and 13 by MiG-21s) at a cost of 5 MiG-21s were shot down by IAF, which helped to convince the Israelis to sign a ceasefire agreement.
In September 1973, a large air battle erupted between Syria and Israel; Israel claimed a total of 12 Syrian MiG-21s destroyed, while Syria claimed eight kills scored by MiG-21s and admitted five losses.
During the Yom Kippur War, Israel claimed 73 kills against Egyptian MiG-21s (65 confirmed). Egypt claimed 27 confirmed kills against Israeli aircraft by its MiG-21s, plus eight probables. However, according to most Israeli sources, these were exaggerated claims as Israeli air-to-air combat losses for the entire war did not exceed five to fifteen.
On the Syrian front of the war, 6 October 1973 saw a flight of Syrian MiG-21MFs shoot down an IDF A-4E and a Mirage IIICJ while losing three of their own to Israeli IAI Neshers. On 7 October, Syrian MiG-21MFs downed two Israeli F-4Es, three Mirage IIICJs and an A-4E while losing two of their MiGs to Neshers and one to an F-4E, plus two to friendly SAM fire. Iraqi MiG-21PFs also operated on this front, and on that same day destroyed two A-4Es while losing one MiG. On 8 October 1973, Syrian MiG-21PFMs downed three F-4Es, but six of their MiG-21s were lost. By the end of the war, Syrian MiG-21s claimed a total of 30 confirmed kills against Israeli aircraft; 29 MiG-21s were claimed (26 confirmed) as destroyed by the IDF.
Between the end of the Yom Kippur War and the start of the 1982 Lebanon War, Israel had received modern F-15s and F-16s, which were far superior to the old Syrian MiG-21MFs. According to the IDF, these new aircraft accounted for the destruction of 24 Syrian MiG-21s over this period, though Syria did claim five kills against IDF aircraft with their MiG-21s armed with outdated K-13 missiles, although Israel denied they suffered any losses.
The 1982 Lebanon War started on 6 June 1982, and in the course of that war the IDF claimed to have destroyed about 45 Syrian MiG-21MFs. Syria claimed two confirmed and 15 probable kills of Israeli aircraft. Two Israeli F-15 and one F-4 was damaged in combat with the MiG-21. This air battle was the largest to occur since the Korean War.
