In the Gulf War of 1990–1991, when the Coalition intervened, they faced the world’s fourth-largest air force to combat.
In the opening days of the war, many air-air engagements occurred, where Iraqi interceptors would engage Coalition aircraft.
Here is a Video of an Intense Dogfight Between a U.S. Pilot and an Iraqi MiG
It’s January 1991 and a USAF pilot is in trouble. An Iraqi MiG has locked onto his plane and is preparing to take him down. The next decision he makes will have to be perfect – or it could be his last.
In August 1990, Iraq had the largest air force in the region even after long Iran–Iraq War. The air force at that time had 934 combat aircraft in its inventory.
Related link: See how a Top Secret Program Helped U.S. Pilots to Defeat MiGs
During the 1991 Persian Gulf War, the Iraqi Air Force was devastated by the United States, the United Kingdom, and their allies.
Most airfields were heavily struck, and in air combat, Iraq was only able to obtain four confirmed kills (and 4 damaged and one probable kill), while sustaining 23 losses.
Related link: F-16 SHOT DOWN F-35A AT RED FLAG
All of the out-of-service (six) Tupolev Tu-22s that Iraq possessed was destroyed by bombing at the start of Operation Desert Storm, though they had already been withdrawn from the inventory of the Iraqi Air Force and were simply used as decoys and do not appear on the operational list of lost aircraft from the Iraqi Air Force (like all other old aircraft which were used solely to deflect raids from operational assets).
