We’ve lately been talking about aircraft which have gone for combat several times. Now we’ve been thinking of some statistics of various fighter aircraft in use. Below you can find the details – but first of all we would like to show you an overview, created by Wojtek Korsak, based on this article. Thanks for that Wojtek. Click enlarge. If it is still to small: Press and hold Ctrl and scroll up with your mouse.Combat statistics for all fighter aircraft in use

Combat statistics for all fighter aircraft in use

The Format is: 
[Name of aircraft] Air-to-air kills – Air-to-air losses – Losses to ground fire

[Name of conflict aircraft was used in]

[Nation that used aircraft in said conflict]

Air-to-air kills – Air-to-air losses – Losses to ground fire

Aircraft which were destroyed on the ground are not included in this analysis, because any plane can get destroyed on the ground no matter how good it or its pilot is.

F-16 Falcon 76-1-5
Gulf War (USA) 0-0-3
No-Fly Zones (USA) 2-0-0
Bosnia (USA) 4-0-1
Kosovo (USA) 1-0-1
Kosovo (Netherlands) 1-0-0
Kosovo (Portugal, Belgium, Denmark, Turkey) 0-0-0
Afghanistan (USA, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway) 0-0-0
Iraq (USA) 0-0-0
Syrian border clashes 1979-1986 (Israel) 6-0-0
Operation Opera (Israel) 0-0-0
Lebanon War (1982) (Israel) 44-0-0
Lebanon War (2006) (Israel) 3-0-0
Intifada (2000-present) (Israel) 0-0-0
Soviet-Afghan War (Pakistan) 10-0-0
Border clashes (Pakistan) 1-0-0
Kargil War (Pakistan) 0-0-0
Northwest border wars (Pakistan) 0-0-0
Aegean Sea clashes (Turkey) 1-1-0
Venezuelan Coup 1992 (Venezuela) 3-0-0

F-15A/C/I/S Eagle 102-0-0
Gulf War (USA) 32-0-0
Gulf War (Saudi Arabia) 2-0-0
Northern Watch, Southern Watch, Desert Fox (USA) 2-0-0
Bosnia (USA) 0-0-0
Kosovo (USA) 4-0-0
Afghanistan (USA) 0-0-0
Iraq (USA) 0-0-0
Syrian border clashes 1979-1981 (Israel) 19-0-0
Operation Opera (Israel) 0-0-0
Lebanon War (1982) (Israel) 38-0-0
Lebanon War 1982-2000 (Israel) 4-0-0
Lebanon War (2006) (Israel) 0-0-0
Iran Gulf Clash 1984 (Saudi Arabia) 1-0-0

An interesting fact here – the F-15 once shot down a satellite!

https://youtu.be/pRH8X_Pr-dE

F-15E Strike Eagle 1-0-3
Gulf War (USA) 1-0-2
Northern Watch, Southern Watch, Desert Fox (USA) 0-0-0
Bosnia (USA) 0-0-0
Kosovo (USA) 0-0-0
Afghanistan (USA) 0-0-0
Iraq War (USA) 0-0-1
Lebanon War 1982-2000 (Israel) 0-0-0
Lebanon War (2006) (Israel) 0-0-0
Yemen Border Clashes (Saudi Arabia) 0-0-0


F/A-18 Hornet 2-1-1
Gulf of Sidra 1986 (USA) 0-0-0
Gulf War (USA) 2-1-1
Gulf War (Canada) 0-0-0
Kosovo (USA) 0-0-0
Kosovo (Spain) 0-0-0
Kosovo (Canada) 0-0-0
Afghanistan (USA, Australia) 0-0-0
Iraq (USA, Australia) 0-0-0

F/A-18E/F/G Super Hornet 0-0-0
NFZs (USA) 0-0-0
Afghanistan (USA) 0-0-0
Iraq (USA) 0-0-0

F-14 Tomcat 135-4-4

Vietnam (1975) (USA) 0-0-0
Gulf of Sidra (USA) (1980) 2-0-0
Lebanon 1983 (USA) 0-0-0
Gulf of Sidra (1986) 0-0-0
Gulf of Sidra (1989) 2-0-0
Gulf War (USA) 1-0-1
Iraq NFZs (USA) 0-0-0
Bosnia (USA) 0-0-0
Kosovo (USA) 0-0-0
Afghanistan (USA) 0-0-0
Iraq (USA) 0-0-0
Iran-Iraq War (Iran) 130-4-4


F-4 Phantom 306-106-545
Vietnam War (US Navy) 40-7-66
Vietnam War (USMC) 3-1-74
Vietnam War (USAF) 108-33-337
Desert Storm (USAF) 0-0-1
NFZs (Turkey) 0-0-0
Soviet border clash 1976 (Iran) 1-0-0
Dhofar War (Iran) 0-0-1
Kurdish rebellion (Iran) 0-0-1
Iran-Iraq War (Iran) 68-29-33
Iran Gulf Clash 1984 (Iran) 0-1-0
Kurdish Civil War (Iran) 0-0-1
War of Attrition (Israel) 26-3-5
Yom Kippur War (Israel) 55-28-22
Syrian border clashes 1974-1981 (Israel) 4-3-1
Lebanon War (1982) (Israel) 1-1-1
Lebanon War 1982-2000 (Israel) 0-0-2

Mirage 2000 1-0-1
Gulf War (France, UAE) 0-0-0
Bosnia (France) 0-0-1
Kosovo (France) 0-0-0
Afghanistan (France) 0-0-0
Aegean Sea 1996 (Greece) 1-0-0
Kargil War (India) 0-0-0
Alto-Cenapa War (Peru) 0-0-0

Sea Harrier 21-0-3
Falklands War (UK) 21-0-2
Gulf War (UK) 0-0-0
Bosnia (UK) 0-0-1
Kosovo (UK) 0-0-0
Sierra Leone 2000 (UK) 0-0-0
Iraq War (UK) 0-0-0

Mirage F.1 24-43-20
Chadian-Libyan War (France) 0-0-0
Afghanistan (France) 0-0-0
Paquisha War (Ecuador) 0-0-0
Alto-Cenapa War (Equador) 2-0-0
Iran-Iraq War (Iraq) 15-35-11?
Gulf War (Iraq) 0-8-0
Gulf War (Kuwait) 3 (possibly 12)-0-0
Western Saharan War (Morocco) 0-0-7
Angola Border War (South Africa) 4-0-2
Aegean Sea clashes (Greece) 0-1-0

Rafale 0-0-0
Afghanistan (France) 0-0-0

Tornado ADV 0-0-0
Gulf War (UK, Saudi Arabia) 0-0-0
NFZs (UK) 0-0-0
Kosovo (Italy) 0-0-0
Iraq War (UK) 0-0-0

JF-17 Thunder 0-0-0
Waziristan War/NW Pakistan campaigns (Pakistan) 0-0-0

J-7 1-0-0
Sudanese Civil War (Sudan) 0-0-0
Uganda-Tanzania War (Tanzania) 0-0-0
Sri Lankan Civil War (Sri Lanka) 1-0-0

MiG-21 240-501-[too little information for an accurate count of losses to ground fire]
Vietnam War (North Vietnam) 78-95-0
Vietnam War (North Korea) 1-0-0
Vietnam War (USSR) 6-0-0
1967 border clashes (Syria) 0-7-0
Six-Day War (Egypt) 5-13-
Six-Day War (Syria) 0-7-
Six-Day War (Iraq) 0-1-
War of Attrition (Syria) 7-56
War of Attrition (USSR) 0-5-0
War of Attrition (Egypt) 18-93
Yom Kippur War (Syria) 30-26
Yom Kippur War (Egypt) 26-65
Yom Kippur War (Iraq) 1-9
Egypt-Libya Border War (Egypt) 6-1
Soviet-Iranian border clashes (USSR) 1-0-0
Syrian border clashes 1974-1981 (Syria) 5-26
Lebanon War 1982 (Syria) 2-38
Turkish border violation 1986 (Syria) 1-0-0
Ogaden War (Somalia) 1-6
Angola Bush War (Angola) 1-3
Congo Civil War (Zaire) 0-0-0
Congo Civil War (Angola) 0-0-1
Uganda-Tanzania War (Uganda) 0-0-1
Uganda-Tanzania War (Tanzania) 0-0-1
Mozambique Civil War (Mozambique) 1-0-0
Sudanese Civil War (Sudan) 0-0-3
Somali Civil War (Somalia) 0-0-0
Ethiopian-Eritrean War (Ethiopia) 0-3
Iran-Iraq War (Iraq) 32-40
Gulf War (Iraq) 0-4-0
Indo-Pakistani War 1965 (India) 0-0-
Indo-Pakistani War 1971 (India) 6-1-
Kargil War (India) 0-0-1
Soviet-Afghan War (Afghanistan) 0-4
Atlantique Incident 1999 (India) 1-0-0
Afghan Civil War 1992-1996 (United Front) 4-0-
Afghan Civil War 1992-1996 (Dostum-Gulbuddin Militia) 0-2-
Abkhazian War (Georgia) 0-0-0
Nagorno-Karabakh War (Azerbaijan) 0-0-6
Nagorno-Karabakh War (Armenia) 0-0-1
1986 Cuban border incursion (Cuba) 1-0-0
Slovenian War (Yugoslavia) 0-0-0
Croatian War (Yugoslavia) 1-0-7
Croatian War (Croatia) 0-0-1
Bosnia (Serbia) 0-0-0
Kosovo (Serbia) 1-0-0
Balloon shootdown (Belarus) 1-0-0
1966 US-China border violation 1-0-0
1963 US Czech border violation 1-0-0
Korean DMZ (North Korea) 1-0-0
Sa’dah Insurgency (Yemen) 0-0-1


MiG-23 25-102-[too little information for an accurate count of losses to ground fire]
Syrian border clashes 1974-1981 (Syria) 3-2-0
Lebanon War 1982 (Syria) 1-30-
Israeli UAV shootdown 2002 (Syria) 1-0-0
Iran-Iraq War (Iraq) 16-56
Gulf War (Iraq) 0-8-0
NFZs (Iraq) 0-1-0
Gulf of Sidra 1989 (Libya) 0-2-0
Egypt-Libya Border War (Libya) 0-2
Soviet-Afghan War (USSR) 0-3 
Iran-Afghan border violations (USSR) 4-0-0
Ethiopian-Eritrean War (Ethiopia) 0-1
Angola Bush War (Cuba) 0-0-0

MiG-25 8-8-1
War of Attrition 0-0-0
Yom Kippur War 0-0-0
Syrian border clashes 1974-1981 (Syria) 0-2-0
Iran-Iraq War (Iraq) 5-1-0
Syrian-Iraqi border violation (1986) (Iraq) 1-0-0
Soviet-Iranian border violations (1986-87) (USSR) 0-2-0
Gulf War (Iraq) 1-2-0
NFZs (Iraq) 1-1-0
Nagorno-Karabakh War (Azerbaijan) 0-0-1

https://youtu.be/npSvKmXslpg

Did you know that MiGFlug once offered Edge of Space flights in the MiG-25 Foxbat?

MiG-29 6-18-1
Lebanon War 1982-2000 (Syria) 0-2-0
Gulf War (Iraq) 0-5-0
Transnistria War (Moldova, Russia) 0-0-0
Brothers in Rescue incident (Cuba) 2-0-0
Slovenian War (Yugoslavia) 0-0-0
Croatian War (Yugoslavia) 0-0-0
Bosnia (Serbia) 0-0-0
Kosovo (Serbia) 0-6-0
Kargil War (India) 0-0-0
Ethiopian-Eritrean War (Eritrea) 3-5-0
Georgian border violation 2008 (Russia) 1-0-0
Darfur War (Sudan) 0-0-1


Su-27 6-0-2
Abkhazia War (Russia) 0-0-1
First Chechen War (Russia) 1-0-0
South Ossetia War (Russia) 0-0-0
Ethiopian-Eritrean War (Ethiopia) 5-0-0
Somali Civil War (Ethiopia) 0-0-0
Angolan Civil War (Angola) 0-0-1


F-5 Freedom Fighter/Tiger 25-23-30
Vietnam War (USA) 0-0-1
Vietnam War (South Vietnam) ?-?-?
Vietnamese-Cambodia War (Vietnam) ?-?-?
Ogaden War (Ethiopia) 7-0-2
Yom Kippur War (Morocco) 0-0-0
Iran-Iraq War (Iran) 18-23-12
Western Saharan War (Morocco) 0-0-14
Yemen Border Clashes 1979 (Taiwan) ?-?-?
Gulf War (Saudi Arabia) 0-0-1

Fighters that have yet to see combat: F-22 Raptor, Saab Gripen, Eurofighter Typhoon, Ching-Kuo, J-10, Saeqeh, Azarakhsh, MiG-31, Su-30, Su-33, Su-35.

Observations:

1) US multi-role fighters seem to be primarily used in the strike role. They barely break even between kills and losses on the air-combat scorecard.

2) The F-15 Eagle is completely dominant as a fighter, 1) because it’s a really good aircraft, and 2) because it’s so expensive it can only be used by nations with enough money to invest in the training and maintenance it takes to make really good air forces.

3) Looking at the losses of the F-4 to ground fire, one can see how big of a threat SAMs were in the 1960s and 1970s. Compare this to more modern fighters and one can see how aircraft design has outpaced SAM systems.

4) The poor performance of the Mirage F.1 is somewhat surprising.

5) The ridiculously high kill ratio of the F-14 in Iranian service is also surprising. The common canard is that training trumps technology, but an air force with great technology but beset by political purges and struggling with maintenance problems and embargoes can still have a turkey shoot against an air force with both poor training and poor technology.

6) Su-27 is the only Russian fighter to have a positive kill ratio in combat, but as we all know this is likely due to “monkey model” export fighters, as well as the poor training standards of Arab air forces.

7) The unbeaten (aircraft that have engaged in significant air combat but never been shot down in air-to-air combat): F-15 Eagle, Sea Harrier, Su-27.

 

Additional readings –

Author – Jake Meilak