Iranian F-14s Versus Israeli Jets. The Aerial Clash That Could've Been.

Syria needed help in the air.

An Iranian F-14 in 2023. Via Wikimedia Commons

On Sept. 24, 1979, the Israeli and Syrian air forces engaged in a dogfight that ended with Israeli McDonnell Douglas F-15s shooting down four Syrian Mikoyan MiG-21s without suffering a single loss.

The incident came three months after Israeli jets shot down five MiG-21s in a similar engagement—and which marked the first-ever kills by the F-15.

Shortly after the later incident, the U.S. embassy in Tehran noted, in a secret memo, that Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini had “commented on the possible transfer of advanced aircraft, including the U.S.-manufactured F-14s and F-16s, from Iran to Syria or other Arab countries confronting Israel.”

Of course, Iran never acquired the Lockheed-made F-16. While the Shah of Iran, who fled the revolution in his country earlier that year, did order 160 F-16s late in his rule—and wanted another 140 after that—Tehran never received a single one before the revolution.

Ironically, Israel ultimately received 55 of the F-16s Iran had ordered.

Tehran did receive 79 of the 80 Grumman F-14s the Shah had purchased before 1979, and it appears Syrian leaders hoped at least some of them could help them even the playing field against the better-equipped Israeli air force.