On May 17, 1986, four Soviet Su-22 fighter-bombers burst into Pakistani airspace to bomb targets in Pakistan. Two Pakistani Air Force F-16 fighters decisively intercepted and opened fire!
One of the Pakistani Air Force F-16 fighters shot down two Soviet Su-22 fighter-bombers in 40 seconds!
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan shocked the world, but the vast majority of Western countries did nothing but protest. The Actions of the Soviet Union posed a great threat to Pakistan, which was worried about Soviet troops moving south from Afghanistan. In this way, Pakistan had to guard against both India in the east and the Soviet Union in the west, and there was a situation of being attacked on both sides.
In the first year of the war in Afghanistan (1979), the Soviets were too busy establishing a new order in Afghanistan to take care of it. But by 1981, Soviet fighter jets and helicopters began patrolling along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border — sometimes as deep as Pakistan. Later, bombers were sent to bomb anti-Soviet strongholds in Pakistan (afghan organizations resisting Soviet aggression).
At that time, the Pakistan Air Force was mainly equipped with China's J-6 and French Mirage III/V fighters, which could not compete with the Advanced Fighters of the Soviet Union such as the MiG-23, and could only helplessly face the invasion of Soviet fighters. Just then, the United States struck! In December 1981, the United States officially agreed to the purchase of 40 F-16A/B fighters by the Pakistani side.
The F-16 fighter is the third generation of the US military fighter, the maneuverability is very good, equipped with AIM9 type Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, M61 Vulcan machine gun and other advanced weapons, can effectively counter the Soviet Union at that time in service with the new fighter. By 1983, the Pakistan Air Force was initially equipped to compete with the Soviet Air Force on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, followed by fierce air battles with the Soviet-Pakistani Air Force.
In the early morning of May 17, 1986, four Soviet Su-22 fighter-bombers bombed anti-Soviet positions in the Panjahi Valley in Pakistan, while Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan were also attacked by Soviet bombers. After the bombing, Pakistan Air Force pilots Major Hamid Judri and Major Mohammed Yusef were ordered to fly F-16A fighter jets over Parachina on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
Suddenly, the ground radar crew informed the pilot of the long plane, Major Judry, that four Soviet warplanes were about to invade Pakistani airspace. This was supposed to be the second wave of bombing organized by the Soviet Air Force, and Major Jadri glanced at the interception radar in the air, paying close attention to the movements of the enemy aircraft.
Soon, ground radar crews again informed Major Judri that four enemy planes had invaded Pakistani airspace, two of them flying south, while the other two were penetrating nearly 10 kilometers of Pakistani airspace at a speed of more than 500 knots and coming in the direction of the F-16s of Major Giardri's two men. Ground radar crews demanded that the F-16 accelerate immediately and lower its flight altitude to 3,000 meters.
The two F-16s turned decisively toward the enemy planes, major Jadri locked on the south side with radar, and Major Yusef locked on the north one. Two Pakistani Air Force F-16s approached the two invading Soviet fighters at a speed of 900 kilometers per hour. On the way to the enemy plane, the two Pakistani pilots repeatedly turned on radar scans to confirm that there were no other Soviet or Afghan fighters around, and then prepared the missiles for the moment of attack.
When the two Pakistani F-16s were 18 kilometers apart from the Soviet warplanes, Major Jadri and Major Yusef pressed the auxiliary fuel tank discard button almost simultaneously. What is shocking is that none of the auxiliary fuel tanks of these two F-16s were dropped (afterwards, the US side said that it was the technical failure of the aircraft)!
At 11 kilometers away from the enemy aircraft, Major Jadri was able to identify these were two Soviet Su-22 fighter-bombers. Major Jadri locked on to one of them, and he immediately got feedback that the missile had captured the target, and Major Jadri immediately fired the first Sidewinder missile.
However, the Su-22 reacted quickly, making a very fast jump, and the Sidewinder missile failed to hit the target, but instead blew itself up in front of the F-16 aircraft. At this time, the two F-16s almost passed by the enemy aircraft, and Major Judri immediately pulled up the nose of the aircraft, climbed sharply to the left, and after nearly 250 meters in a second, then made a very difficult 180-degree turn.
Major Judry spotted two Su-22 enemy planes flying flat, and he immediately locked on to one of them and fired a second Sidewinder missile. With a burst of fireworks, the missile roared out from the right flank, made a semicircle to track the enemy plane on the right, and quickly hit the enemy plane, and then the Su-22 shook and fell to the ground in thick smoke.
Another Su-22 saw that the situation was not good and fled in the direction of the Afghan border. Major Jadri immediately launched a pursuit and pulled the plane upwards, successfully taking a favorable position for the attack. At this time, the enemy plane was fleeing downwards from the nose, and as the plane flew over the highest point, Major Jadri immediately fired a three-second burst of machine gun, exploding the Su-22 in the air!
After the incident, the Pakistani Air Force immediately searched for the wreckage of the crashed Su-22, and when the Pakistani Air Force soldiers arrived at the crash site, the local tribal residents had loaded the wreckage of the aircraft into a tractor. After the Pakistani Air Force towed back the wreckage of the aircraft, it was displayed to reporters at home and abroad, and some of the wreckage was displayed on the tarmac of the Pakistan Air Force Base. Major Judri, who shot down two Su-22s in 40 seconds, was awarded the Crescent of Excellence, and wingman pilot Major Saf and ground radar commander Lieutenant Assad were also honored.
Afterwards, all Soviet cross-border flights to Pakistani airspace were cancelled, and the Soviet air base in Kabul was immediately equipped with 29 new MiG-23 MLDs.
This is the first time that the Pakistani Air Force has shot down a Soviet fighter in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border area, and it is undeniable that the F-16 shot down the Su-22 has a generation difference component, but the spirit of the Pakistani Air Force daring to show the sword also opened a Pandora's box against Soviet fighters. Later, Pakistan's F-16 shined, shooting down a total of 14 Soviet fighters, and only 1 of them lost due to accidental injury, which also shows the excellent combat quality of Pakistan Air Force pilots from one side! (Fig. 3 Major Jadri with the wreckage of the downed Su-22)
