“You should go home”: F-22 Raptor flew undetected under Iran’s F-4 Phantom

Summary: In a highly publicized incident, two Iranian F-4 Phantom IIs were intercepted by a US Air Force F-22 Raptor as they attempted to attack an MQ-1 Predator drone.

– The Iranian pilots were reportedly unaware of the F-22s until one flew beneath their planes and radioed them to get out of here.

– The story is often romanticized as demonstrating the Raptor’s stealth and superiority, but the encounter highlighted the differences between the modern F-22 and the aging Iranian F-4.

– This event highlights the expected performance gap between state-of-the-art American fighter aircraft and the aging aircraft of the competition, rather than an exceptional achievement.

The secret encounter of the F-22 Raptor with Iranian F-4: separating myth and reality

A widely repeated story that still makes the rounds on the internet says that a decade ago, two Iranian Air Force F-4 Phantom IIs – fighter jets that had been in service since the 1960s – were deployed to intercept a U.S. Air Force MQ-1 Predator drone and were then surprised by an F-22 Raptor.

To put it bluntly, this much-publicized story is “much ado about nothing.”

The incident came after two Iranian Sukhoi Su-25s attempted to shoot down another Predator a few months earlier. The Islamic Republic’s Soviet-made fighter jets, designed for close air support rather than air superiority, failed in their mission. Even more embarrassing for Tehran was the fact that the drone recorded the entire incident with its cameras.

The Iranians in the F-4 Phantom IIs probably thought they would have much better luck.

What they didn’t know was that the Predator was escorted by two F-22s.

To say the F-4s were outgunned would be an understatement – but according to most accounts of the incident, the Iranians were completely unaware of the fifth-generation fighters’ presence. One of the Raptors even flew under the Iranian plane, confirmed the F-4’s armament, then pulled up on the left wing and made its presence known, radioing the Iranians: “You really should go home.”

F-22 Raptor and F-4: The Internet loves the story

This is hardly a “secret” incident, as it has been written about dozens (perhaps hundreds) of times.

It has been compared to the opening sequence of the original 1986 film Top Gun, in which Tom Cruise flies “Maverick” over an enemy MiG-28 (a fictional aircraft), surprising the enemy.

The F-4 incident has even been described as “Maverick-like,” as if it was some kind of magical move. In fact, this is a point that has been made repeatedly.

Start the ticker tape parade, toast the pilots as America’s greatest heroes, give Tehran the middle finger and shout “USA, USA, USA.”

As Eli Fuhrman of The National Interest previously reported, “The incident demonstrates the impressive stealth capabilities of the Raptor, which was able to approach the two Iranian fighter jets undetected and scout their arsenals before scaring them off.”

But we should have expected nothing else.

Goliath versus David

Did this mission really demonstrate the F-22’s “impressive stealth capabilities” – especially since the Iranian pilots were flying a plane that was probably as old as their parents? A plane that Tehran even had trouble keeping in the air.

Harrison Kass explained: “The Iranians, flying Vietnam-era F-4 Phantoms, were not adequately equipped to take on an F-22. Granted, the F-4 was a capable aircraft – the most produced American supersonic military aircraft of all time – but its first flight was in 1958. The F-22, on the other hand, was a modern marvel of the 21st century.”

And while Iran has some good pilots, the U.S. Air Force arguably has the best in the world. To borrow a phrase from President Barack Obama, it seems as though U.S. pilots in the most modern aircraft have simply been pitted against the “JV team” operating outdated equipment.

Putting things in perspective

The cockpits of most jet fighters are considered cramped at best, and during the development of the F-4 there were reported complaints that some found the cockpit almost claustrophobic. Also, it cannot be said that two-seat aircraft do not offer the best visibility from the cockpit, and most fighter pilots reportedly make turns during descents to ensure there is no traffic below them.

In other words, from the cockpit of an F-4, it would be impossible to see an aircraft approaching from below, and the Iranian pilots were probably focused on the MQ-1 Predator drone when the F-22s approached.

Just think of the blind spots in modern cars, and in airplanes it is much worse.

David Axe explained in a 2013 article for Wired that even the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II has a severe blind spot directly behind the aircraft – a blind spot that could lead to a shootdown, he warned. The F-4, a much older technology, has a similar and potentially even worse blind spot.

In addition, the F-4 was not designed for dogfights. If an enemy can get that close, that would be a problem.

Kass also noted, “The Phantom was not particularly maneuverable. Enemy MiGs could usually outrun the F-4, which was not designed for dogfights and suffered from adverse yaw in tight turns. The F-4 was designed to fire radar-guided missiles beyond visual range, not for dogfight maneuvers.”

Conclusions

The F-22s probably gave the Iranian pilot a good scare all those years ago. And although the story has been told time and time again, we only know the official version from the US Air Force. Tehran is silent and, according to published reports, has not even admitted that such a thing happened.

While this does not underscore the fact that the F-22 Raptor could sneak up on an F-4 undetected, what would be more significant is if an aging Ukrainian F-4 did the same to a Russian Su-57 (and possibly even shot it down).

In other words, there is much boasting about the fact that the US aircraft, which has been described as the absolute best air superiority fighter currently in service, was able to successfully approach another aircraft from the 1960s without being seen.

We should be neither surprised nor pleased; we should have expected this outcome. Moreover, given that the F-22 is the most expensive fighter aircraft ever built, we would be disappointed if it could not have carried out such an operation.

Author’s experience and expertise:

Peter Suciu is a writer from Michigan. He has published over 3,200 articles for more than four dozen magazines, newspapers and websites in his twenty-year career as a journalist. He writes regularly about military equipment, weapons history, cybersecurity, politics and international affairs. Peter is also a guest writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.

All images are Creative Commons.