Gulf of Sidra incident (1981)

Gulf of Sidra incident (1981)
Artist's depiction of Fast Eagle 107's AIM-9 Sidewinder about to hit a Libyan Su-22
Date 19 August 1981 Location Gulf of Sidra, Mediterranean Sea Result United States victory; Deterioration of Libya – United States relations
Belligerents
Libya	United States
Commanders and leaders
Muammar Gaddafi	Ronald Reagan
Strength
2 Sukhoi Su-22 aircraft	2 F-14A Tomcats 1 E-2C Hawkeye
Casualties and losses
2 aircraft destroyed	None

United States victory;

2 F-14A Tomcats

In the first Gulf of Sidra incident, 19 August 1981, two Libyan Su-22 Fitter fired upon and were subsequently shot down by two American F-14 Tomcats off the Libyan coast.

In 1973, Libya claimed the Gulf of Sidra as a closed bay and part of its territorial waters. This prompted the United States to conduct Freedom of Navigation (FON) operations in the area since the claim did not meet the criteria established by international law. Libya often confronted U.S. forces in and near the gulf, and on two occasions its fighter jets opened fire on U.S. reconnaissance flights off the Libyan coast; once in the spring of 1973 and again in the fall of 1980. FON operations intensified when Ronald Reagan came to office.

In August 1981, he authorized a large naval force led by a pair of aircraft carriers, USS Forrestal and USS Nimitz, to deploy to the disputed area. The two carriers had embarked a total of four interceptor squadrons: VF-74 "Be-Devilers" and VMFA-115 "Silver Eagles", flying F-4 Phantoms from Forrestal, and VF-41 "Black Aces" and VF-84 "Jolly Rogers", flying F-14 Tomcats from Nimitz. The Libyan Air Force responded by deploying a high number of interceptors and fighter-bombers. Early on the morning of 18 August, when the U.S. exercise began, at least three MiG-25 'Foxbats' approached the U.S. carrier groups, but were escorted away by American interceptors. The Libyans tried to establish the exact location of the U.S. naval force. Thirty-five pairs of MiG-23 'Floggers', MiG-25s, Sukhoi Su-20 'Fitter-Cs', Su-22M 'Fitter-Js' and Mirage F1s flew into the area, and were soon intercepted by seven pairs of F-14s and F-4s. U.S. Naval Intelligence later assessed that a MiG-25 may have fired a missile from 18 miles away at U.S. fighter aircraft that day.

...
Wikipedia