As far as is known, this was the first time an Iraqi pilot had ever encountered the US Air Force’s stealth fighter
In answer to an Air Force request for an aircraft that could attack high-value targets without being picked up by enemy radar, Lockheed created the F-117A. During the 1970s, engineers were able to create an airplane that was “stealth” or could avoid radar thanks to new materials and techniques. The outcome was the F-117A, the first stealth aircraft to operate in the world.
On June 18, 1981, the first F-117A took to the air, and on October 1, 1983, the 4450th Tactical Group—later renamed the 37th Tactical Fighter Wing—achieved initial operational capability. On December 19, 1989, two F-117As from the 37th TFW attacked military objectives in Panama as part of Operation Just Cause. The 415th and 416th squadrons of the 37th TFW relocated to a base in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Shield/Storm in 1990–1991; this was when the F-117A saw action once more.
According to E.R. Hooton and Tom Cooper in their book Desert Storm Volume 1: the Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait and Operation Desert Shield 1990-1991, CENTCOM was able to investigate behind enemy lines during Operation Desert Shield by using a range of platforms in addition to satellite photography. SAC’s Boeing RC-135 Rivet Joint was the first USAF aircraft to be employed; it started Burning Wind SIGINT missions infantry on August 9 and was providing round-the-clock coverage two days later.
Since imagery was essential, SAC’s Lockheed U-2 very high-altitude photo-reconnaissance aircraft and Lockheed TR-1 tactical reconnaissance with side-looking radar began operations on August 29. On September 8, McDonnell-Douglas RF-4Cs flew the first medium-altitude photographic reconnaissance missions. As of December 2, 469 tactical, 421 strategic, and 2,800 ELINT sorties had been flown by Gen. Charles Horner, the Commander of US and allied air operations for Operation Desert Shield (and later Desert Storm), while 253 sorties had been flown by AWACS, which supported the shield and kept an eye on IrAF activity.
The Joint Surveillance Target Acquisition System (J-STARS), an airborne battlefield surveillance radar system with a 150-kilometer range that was mounted inside a modified Boeing 707 and renamed the E-8A, was one reconnaissance system that arrived late. In early September, the Joint Chiefs denied Schwarzkopf’s request for its deployment, stating that “Desert Shield is not suitable in time or place for introduction J-STARS.” Schwarzkopf had requested its deployment as early as August 10. The Pentagon only changed its mind just before the two available aircraft landed on January 12, 1991, with 44 remote terminals provided by six ground stations and four support vehicles.
The US-led Coalition uses a variety of aircraft, not just conventional ones, to keep an eye on the developments in Kuwait and Iraq. The crew of an Iraqi Airways Boeing 747, traveling over Najaf late on December 16, 1990, reported seeing an F-117A fighter near the left wingtip of the aircraft. Captain Remzi, a former fighter pilot with a lengthy career of flying Sukhoi Su-7BMKs and Su-20s during the war with Iran, led the crew. To the best of our knowledge, this was the first-ever interaction between an Iraqi pilot and the US Air Force’s stealth fighter.
Even if it’s still unclear what the latter was doing at that precise moment, 200 kilometers southwest of Baghdad, we might presume the F-117A was there to test the air defenses of the Iraqi Air Force. However, Remzi’s sighting of the F-117A stunned the IrAF leaders, leading them to believe they lacked the means against the most sophisticated US combat aircraft.
Desert Storm Volume 1: the Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait and Operation Desert Shield 1990-1991 is published by Helion & Company and is available to order here.
Photo by U.S. Air Force and Steve Fitzgerald via Wikipedia