Gulf of Sidra incident (1989)
The second Gulf of Sidra incident, January 4, 1989, occurred when US F-14 Tomcats shot down two Libyan MiG-23 Flogger Es that appeared to be attempting to engage them, as had happened previously in the Gulf of Sidra incident (1981).
In 1973 Libya claimed much of the Gulf of Sidra as its territorial waters and subsequently declared a "line of death", the crossing of which would invite a military response. As part of its ongoing freedom of navigation activities in support of 12-mile territorial waters practices, the US Navy aircraft carrrier USS John F. Kennedy was operating near the Libyan coast.
At 20,000ft at 11:57 on the morning of the 4th, VF-32 Gypsey Swordsmen F-14As AC207 (Joseph Bernard Connelly/CDR Steven Patrick Collins)(159610 AC207) and AC204 (Herman C. III Cook/Leo F. Enright)(159013 AC204) were flying combat air patrol about 70 miles from the Libyan coast. Two Libyan MiG-23 Floggers which had taken off from AIM-9 Sidewinder and AIM-7 Sparrow missiles it was carrying.
The Tomcats tried three more maneuvers to end the approach. Each time observers in an E-2C Hawkeye heard the Libyan ground controller instruct the Floggers to maneuver into a head-on course.
At noon the trailing Tomcat locked on to the Floggers with its radar, which in past encounters had been reported to the Libyan ground controller and resulted in an instruction to break contact. The US aircraft did not hear those communications this time. At almost 12:01 the lead Tomcat pilot said that "Bogeys have jinked back at me again for the fifth time. They're on my nose now, inside of 20 miles", followed shortly by "Master arm on" as he armed his weapons. At a range of 14 miles he fired a Sparrow radar homing missile and reported "Fox 1. Fox 1." At ten miles range he fired another Sparrow. Both missed.
The Floggers accelerated and continued to approach. At six miles range the Tomcats split and the Floggers followed the wingman while the lead Tomcat circled to get a tail angle on the Floggers for a Sidewinder heat seeking missile shot. The wingman successfully engaged with a Sparrow and one of the US pilots broadcast "Good kill! Good kill!" The lead Tomcat closed on the final Flogger and at 1.5 miles the RIO fired a Sidewinder, which exploded in the tailpipe of the target. One crewman broadcast "Good kill!" and "Let's get out of here." The Libyan pilots were seen to successfully eject and parachuted into the sea. The Tomcats proceeded north to return to the carrier.
Subsequent examination of still photography from the Tomcats indicated that the Floggers were armed with Gulf of Sidra incident (1981), another case where US jets shot down Libyan jets.
