Little-Known Story of An F-22's Interception of Iran F-4's Remembered

An interesting story has come to light, illustrating a meet-cute between an Iranian air force F-4 Phantom and an American F-22 Raptor. 

In 2013, said Pentagon press secretary George Little, the Iranian air force was attempting to intercept U.S. MQ-1 Predator drones flying through international airspace near the country, resulting in a series of nail-biting aerial disputes. The most notable concerned a wing of 2 Phantoms that came within 16 miles of a Predator drone, reportedly breaking off their interception when responding American fighters warned them away with direct radio messaging. In the months following, another Predator on a routine intelligence flight was nearly downed by a flight of 2 Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoots, leading the Pentagon to begin escorting future flights with naval F/A-18 Hornets or F-22 Raptors. The Raptors have built an internationally recognized reputation as some of the most fearsome air superiority aircraft around, one which has come repeatedly come in handy for campaigns aiming at discouraging attacks in the region. 

The newly revealed details of the intervention were shared by USAF chief of staff General Mark Welsh at the annual Air Force Association conference. The Raptor pilots, as it seems, were able to leverage their considerably stealthy capabilities to get up close and personal with Phantoms none the wiser. “He flew under their aircraft to check out their weapons load without them knowing that he was there, and then pulled up on their left wing and then called them and said ‘you really ought to go home.’”

The story was one to remember for the Iranian pilots who undoubtedly shared details of their close encounter with others... maybe. Courageous interdiction is one thing, but knowing the Raptors could get within yards of their aircraft without any indication likely put a damper on future bravery. 

FMI: www.af.mil