‘As we swung our nose in the direction of the vector we got, I got an immediate lock on an extremely fast and high-flying aircraft,’ David ‘Hey Joe’ Parsons, F-14 Tomcat RIO.
On May 17, 1987, the guided missile frigate USS Stark was hit by a pair of French Made Exocet Missiles fired from a French made Dassault 50 Business jet (code-named Suzanna) modified with the nose radar of a Mirage F1 and guidance systems for those combat proven anti-ship weapons. Initially thought to be a Mirage F1EQ, this experimental missile firing platform was modified to provide a rapid anti shipping capability for the Iraqi Air Force (IrAF) during the latter stages of its war with Iran. During this attack 37 US Navy sailors were killed, while the Stark’s anti-aircraft radar systems and anti-air Standard Missile Battery was unable to respond.
As explained by Tom Cooper in his book In the Claws of the Tomcat: US Navy F-14 Tomcats in Air Combat against Iran and Iraq, although the Falcon 50 in question was never deployed in combat again and although officials in Washington made repeated statements that the attack on the USS Stark was flown by an ‘Iraqi Mirage’, henceforth, the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) was on alert and ‘very aware’ of the jet’s existence and capabilities.
Suzanna caused serious concerns that the Iraqis might deploy it via Jordan and into the northern Red Sea, and attack one of the US Navy’s warships there: the threat that the modified business jet emanated was constantly on the minds of everybody embarked aboard the CVBGs operating in the Red Sea. It was for this reason that ever since the first US Navy CVBGs arrived on station in that area, in August 1990, its Tomcats flew rigorous CAPs above the carriers, 24/7, and aggressively intercepted whatever came their way. The patrols in question were continued all through operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, from August 1990 until March 1991, and – regardless of so many other urgencies — the USAF supported them by providing at least one KC-135 around the clock.
How tense such CAPs could get became clear in August 1990, when one of the Aegis cruisers deployed in the northern Red Sea detected a high-speed aircraft approaching from the north, and a pair of Tomcats kept on alert was scrambled to inspect. By accident, David ‘Hey Joe’ Parsons, a RIO serving with the VF-32, was in the rear cockpit of one of two F-14As returning from a training sortie over Saudi Arabia:
“Our mission that day took us into Saudi Arabia and out of the Kennedy’s control. However, as we switched back into the Red Sea control frequency, we could hear excited dialogue about a high-speed flying and alert aircraft being launched and ships going on general quarters. We were well to the north-east of the ships and, from what I could tell, in the best position to execute an intercept. Thus, I checked in [and] advised the controller that we were ready, willing and able to do so.
“The TAO’s voice was several octaves higher than normal and they were going into “warning red, weapons tight”. As we swung our nose in the direction of the vector we got, I got an immediate lock on an extremely fast and high-flying aircraft. The TCS could not resolve the identification, but I had a 300mm camera lens in my bag and broke it out. The AWG-9 was giving us a huge lead via the steering cue, so I was looking out the starboard side — as we spotted a white contrail high above us. As I twisted the lens, the beautiful silhouette of the Concorde came into focus…”
Identified as a supersonic airliner, the jet was left to continue its voyage. After the end of the Second Persian Gulf War it became known that the Iraqis had evacuated Suzanna to Iran in late January 1991 — but without her weapons system: ever since, the jet has been used for VIP-transport in Iran.
In the Claws of the Tomcat: US Navy F-14 Tomcats in Air Combat against Iran and Iraq, 1987-2000 is published by Helion & Company and is available to order here.
Photo credit: CDR David Parsons / US Navy, Tom Cooper and Adrian Meredith / Crown Copyright
I was an E5 Personnel PO in VF-1 throughout Desert Shield and Desert Storm. I kept a diary including many interactions with O’s and Sound Powered Phone Watch in the VF-1 Ready Room aboard USS Ranger. I recorded an impromptu debrief by the CO (CDR McElraft) on video as he related the shootdown of a Russian helo, mentioned in the Wikipedia reference to VF-1. While my original book, Military Secret, is at the Naval War College and Naval Academy (and Harvard) libraries, you can get the “somewhat tamer” version at Amazon, etc., titled GULF in the WAR STORY. Best wishes, warm regards.