1989 air battle near Tobruk
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On 4 January 1989, two Grumman F-14 Tomcats of the United States Navy shot down two Libyan-operated Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 Floggers which the American aircrews believed were attempting to engage and attack them, as had happened eight years prior during the 1981 Gulf of Sidra incident. The engagement took place over the Mediterranean Sea, about 40 miles (64 km) north of Tobruk, Libya.
Gun camera still of the lead F-14 showing the second MiG-23 exploding after being hit by an AIM-9 Sidewinder missile
A simplified depiction of the incident
A MiG-23 silhouette was painted onto Gypsy 202 after the engagement; it was removed prior to returning from cruise.
159610 on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.
Grumman F-14 Tomcat
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The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, twin-tail, all-weather-capable variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experimental (VFX) program after the collapse of the General Dynamics-Grumman F-111B project. A large and well-equipped fighter, the F-14 was the first of the American Teen Series fighters, which were designed incorporating air combat experience against MiG fighters during the Vietnam War.
Grumman F-14 Tomcat
The F-111B was designed to fulfill the carrier-based interceptor role, but had weight and performance problems, and was not suited to the types of aerial combat that were predominant over Vietnam.
Grumman's VFX entry was designed around the TF30 engine, AWG-9 radar and AIM-54 missile intended for the F-111B; this eventually became the F-14A.
VFA-143 "Pukin Dogs" F-14B (in the foreground) and F/A-18E Super Hornet in 2005