“Showtime is an Air Force Reservist … he flies the F-22. Mark Welsh, months after the interaction.
“When the combatant commander wants air power there is only one number to call,” explained Air Force Chief of Staff (at the time) Gen.
Kevin “Showtime” Sutterfield was also flying undetected nearby, eyeing the oblivious Iranian fighter pilot as he began to make his move.
Unbeknownst to either F-4 pilot, however, was that they weren’t alone in tailing the Predator. With one F-4 hanging back, the other began closing with the MQ-1, maintaining its course some four miles outside Iran’s territorial waters. With a top speed of Mach 2.23 and nine external hardpoints capable of carrying as much as 18,650 pounds of ordnance, the Phantom may have been old, but it poses a viable threat to other aircraft–especially slow-moving ones. The heavy aircraft is often referred to as a fighter/bomber, but make no mistake, it was intended to serve as a high-speed interceptor in an era when brute force was often prized over technological finesse. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps starting in 1961 and remaining in service under American banners until as late as 1996. The Phantom is no stranger to American aviators, having served in the U.S. This time, however, it was a pair of more-capable Iranian F-4 Phantoms, which despite being dated platforms, are more than capable of shooting down the slow-moving Predator. Just as had happened in the previous encounter, a pair of Iranian fighters spotted the single, slow-moving aircraft and closed to intercept. Once again, an American MQ-1 Predator was conducting surveillance and reconnaissance off the Iranian coast, approximately 16 miles from shore. The next time Iranian fighters would interact with an American drone came in March of the following year, though the details of the incident didn’t make it to the public until months later. Related: US military launches airstrikes against Iranian proxies in Syria America’s response: Send in the Raptor Of course, this policy must have been eliminated before Iran successfully downed a U.S. Stennis, but occasionally with F-22 Raptors operating out of bases in the United Arab Emirates. began flying these drone operations with fighter escorts–often with F/A-18 Super Hornets off of the nearby USS John C. It remains unclear whether the Iranian planes were really trying to shoot the drone down, or if they were simply trying to send a message, but in any event, the message was received. After making multiple strafing runs, however, the MQ-1 remained entirely intact, and the two Su-25s broke off their pursuit–likely because both had expended all 250 rounds they carried onboard for the large gun. According to reports released to the press after the fact, the Iranian Frogfoots closed with the slow-moving drone and opened fire using their 30mm cannons.
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