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It’s August 18th, 1981.
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Off the coast of Libya.
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Two MiG-25s from the Libyan Air Force race out to sea.
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An American carrier group has just entered their national waters and launched dozens of fighter jets into the sky.
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War, it seems, has dawned upon these waters.
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The Libyan pilot steels himself, laser focused on the battle ahead when he sees something out of the corner of his eye.
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He turns his head in shock;
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to his left is an American F-14 Tomcat flying alongside him.
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He stares at the enemy pilot in complete disbelief as he gives him back a mocking wave
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and, to add further insult, the man on the back seat takes a picture.
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The Libyan pilot finds himself completely outclassed.
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He knows the Americans operate in pairs;
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the second jet must be already behind him with his missiles at the ready.
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Pilot Lawrence Muczynski and Radio Intercept Officer James Anderson
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watch amused as the Libyan MiG-25s turn back to base.
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They joke and laugh,
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joined by their Commander Henry Kleeman and his RIO David Venlet as they return back to the Nimitz.
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In reality the American forces have no intention of war or bloodshed,
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even if they know they’re flirting with the possibility.
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The Libyan government had declared the Gulf of Sidra to be part of their territory,
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while the United States and many others considered it to be international waters.
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Because of this disagreement,
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the US has decided to sail through the disputed territory, challenging the Libyan claim.
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The first day had gone swimmingly for the Americans,
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with their fighters turning away 70 Libyan aircraft without a single shot being fired.
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Kleeman particularly enjoyed interacting with the Libyan pilots,
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later describing the day as “all fun and games.”
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Little did he know that things would become much more serious.
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Kleeman and Muczynski are back in the sky very early in the morning the following day.
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Call-sign Fast Eagle 102 and 107 respectively,
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they’ve been patrolling for over an hour
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when an unidentified contact headed straight towards them appears on their screens.
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The experience of the prior day has them quiet comfortable,
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so Kleeman in Fast Eagle 102 calmly reports the contact before heading to meet it.
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The two planes adopt an intercept formation,
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with Muczynski in Fast Eagle 107 putting some distance from his flight leader.
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Kleeman is the first to get visual with the enemy,
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spotting not one but two Libyan Su-22 “Fitters” flying wingtip to wingtip straight towards him.
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At that very moment Muczynski’s radar malfunctions and he loses the ping of the enemy fighters,
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but he’s undeterred, he can intercept with visual only.
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But then the maneuver turns from routine to horror
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when he sees an orange flash from under one of the Su-22’s wings
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and a smoke trail streaking out towards Kleeman.
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They’ve just fired a missile.
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In a state of disbelief, he reports
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“Two fitters have shot at my leader.”
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Kleeman sees the missile coming and instantly pulls hard to the left.
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The missile flies right past him followed moments later by the pair of enemy fighters.
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“This is 102, we've been fired on!”
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Thinking on his feet he orders 107 to get after the one who shot.
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Muczynski instantly races into the fray,
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turning around 180 degrees and ending up right on the 6 of the two Libyans.
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The enemy pilots scatter in separate directions,
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but Muczynski has his eyes locked on the lead Fitter.
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He chases him across the sky, matching the Libyan through every twist and turn.
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He selects his Aim-9L Sidewinder Missiles and pulls the trigger...
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But nothing happens.
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An alert flashes on his screen, the missile is faulty and won't fire.
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Meanwhile, Kleeman has already turned around and is catching up to the second enemy.
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He’s about to fire when the Libyan fighter makes a turn towards the sunrise.
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Kleeman realizes in a split second
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that the heat-seeking Sidewinder could lock onto the heat of the sun,
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so he patiently waits for the enemy fighter to change direction.
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Its 10 long seconds until the Libyan pilot finally makes a turn
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and his fate is sealed.
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The missile lights up and rockets off from under 102’s wing,
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he can see the smoke trail as it tracks to perfection and slams straight into the engine of the SU-22,
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shredding its tail and starting a fire.
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The burning wreckage falls from the sky and the pilot ejects.
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On board Muczynski’s Tomcat, the Radar Intercept Officer spots Kleeman’s target falling in the distance and shouts
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“Someone’s been hit, someone’s been shot!”
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Muczynski turns his head to see the column of black smoke falling into the sea below.
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Worry fills him for a second as he cannot tell who it is,
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but to his immediate relief he hears the voice of Kleeman over the radio reporting his victory.
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“Affimative. …shot one of them down”
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With the Su-22 still ahead and with the gravity of their actions heavy in his mind
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Muczynski asks on the radio,
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“want me to shoot my guy down?”
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“That's affirm, shoot him... shoot him down!”
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Muczynski doesn’t need to be told twice,
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he’s chasing the Libyan through a right hand turn when he pulls the trigger.
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His second and last Sidewinder rockets away,
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but goes dead straight,
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exiting stage left from Muczynski’s field of view.
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Frustrated but without time to think,
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he switches to guns and resolves to shoot the Fitter out of the sky,
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but before he can even try, the missile zips past his field of view and it chases down the Libyan jet
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and detonates into its fuselage.
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Fire and shrapnel fill the sky ahead and Muczynski yanks back on the stick,
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he’s squished into his seat as he pulls an enormous 10Gs,
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barely avoiding the cloud of debris.
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Both pilots are recovering from the adrenaline
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when the news of their peril finally reaches command at the Nimitz,
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they hear through the radio.
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“102, 107, you are clear to defend yourself.”
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Kleeman proudly responds
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“And this is 102, 107, two enemy kills”
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Fortunately, both Libyan pilots,
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Captain Belkacem Emsik al-Zintani and 1st Lieutenant Mokhtar el-Arabi al-Jaafari,
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ejected and survived the encounter.
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They were picked up by Libyan rescue helicopters an hour after the events.
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Further escalation was avoided and the takedown of the two SU-22’s remained the only combat in the entirety of the operation,
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which remained bloodless.
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Kleeman and Muczynski returned to much fanfare among their peers but received no awards.
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The incident would go on to have little political impact,
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it further strained the already terrible US-Libyan relations
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but brought about little action from either government.
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The events of that day would be studied by the writers of Top Gun,
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who used that and other engagements as inspiration for the movie’s combat scenes.
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Fast Eagle 102 went on to be restored by a group of veterans in 2016,
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its now on display in the Midland Army Air Field Museum where you can visit it in Texas.
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