Post–World War II air-to-air combat losses



Air-to-air combat is the engagement of flying machines in warfare in which one or more aircraft tries to destroy one or more other aircraft. The Korean War saw the greatest amount of air to air combat since World War II. During the war the United States claimed to have shot down around 700 USSR fighters. After the war the USAF reviewed its figures in an investigation code-named Sabre Measure Charlie and downgraded the kill ratio of the North American F-86 Sabre against the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 by half from 14:1 to 7:1. One of the factors in the inflated US numbers was that because most dogfights took place over enemy controlled area the only way to confirm kills was the gun camera. USAF pilots were credited with a kill if the gun camera showed their guns striking the enemy aircraft even if no one actually saw it go down. This contrasted with Soviet methodology that required other pilots' testimony, ground evidence, gun camera footage and support from the Chinese and Korean ground forces.

The Vietnam War saw a move away from cannon fire to air-to-air missiles. Although US forces maintained air supremacy throughout the war, there were still occasional dogfights and several US aces. The North Vietnamese side claimed the Vietnam People's Air Force had 17 aces throughout the war, including Nguyen Van Coc, who is also the Top Ace of Vietnam War with nine kills: seven manned aircraft and two UAVs. In just one day, in December 1966 the MiG-21 pilots of the 921st FR downed 14 F-105s without any losses.

The Israeli Air Force has the most experience with air-to-air combat in recent decades. Since the 1948 Israeli War, the IAF has only lost 18 aircraft in air-to-air combat while Arab forces have lost 817.

During the 1947 conflict over Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian Air Force did not engage the Pakistan Air Force in air-to-air combat; however, it did provide effective transport and close air support to the Indian troops. The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 was the first time the Indian Air Force actively engaged an enemy air force. By the time the conflict had ended, India lost between 65 to 75 aircraft and Pakistan lost 43. The Imbalance in Losses explained by the IAF's higher sortie rate and emphasis on ground attack missions. The Indian Air Force lost 45 aircraft during the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971 and the Pakistani Air Force lost 94 aircraft.

During the Iran-Iraq War of 1980–88, there were nearly 1,000 air-to-air engagements between Iran and Iraq.

The Falklands War of 1982 witnessed air combat between Argentine and British military aircraft. The Falkland Islands' runways were short and thus unable to support fighter jets, forcing Argentina to launch fighters from the mainland, which had an adverse effect on their loiter time. The Argentine forces lost 23 aircraft in air-to-air combat, out of a total of 134 fixed wing aircraft and helicopters lost during the conflict.

During the 1990–91 Persian Gulf War, of Iraq's 750 fixed wing aircraft, 33 were shot down; compared to the single confirmed loss of one coalition F/A-18 Hornet.