In the ongoing war, Iran has expectedly relied on drones and missiles to respond to Israeli and US attacks.
This was expected, as Iran has a vintage air force, mostly comprising Cold War-era fighter jets from the US and the Soviet Union, pitted against the US and Israel’s most advanced fifth-generation stealth fighter jets.
However, on March 2, an unusual thing happened.
On that day, Iran launched a daring aerial mission, sending two of its third-generation Su-24MK bombers to attack Qatar.
The Iranian Su-24s were heavily armed, and their flight path suggested that their target was the al-Udeid Air Base, the US’s largest military base in the Middle East that typically houses 10,000 US service members, and Ras Laffan, a key natural gas processing facility and a bedrock of the Qatari economy.
What prompted the IRGC to launch this daring mission, which many would rightly term as a suicide mission given the air strength of the Qatari Air Force and US fighter jets deployed at the al-Udeid Air Base, is not yet known.
The Qatar Emiri Air Force (QEAF) operates a modern and diverse fleet of fighter jets, including F-15E Strike Eagle, Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoons, and a few Mirage-2000s.
Additionally, the US Air Force (USAF) usually deploys F-15s, F-16s, F-35s, and F-22 Raptors at the Al-Udeid Air Base.
Perhaps, the IRGC counted on a shallow incursion. The fact that Iran has already destroyed Qatar’s AN/FPS-132 Upgraded Early Warning Radar (UEWR) on February 28 might have emboldened the IRGC.
Regardless, the IRGC dispatched two Su-24 bombers, and they came within minutes of striking the largest military base housing US troops in the Middle East before Qatari planes shot them down in their first aerial combat mission.
The Iranian jets were just “two minutes” away from their targets, two sources briefed on the operation told CNN.
A second source said the planes were visually identified and photographed “carrying bombs and guided munitions.”
The Qatari authorities issued warnings on the radio but received no response from the jets, which switched to flying at a low altitude of 80 feet to evade radar detection.
Due to “time constraints” and “based on the available evidence,” the aircraft were “classified as hostile.”
Qatar then dispatched its fighter jets, which engaged the two Su-24 bombers in “aerial combat” before downing them.
Both Iranian Su-24 bombers crashed in the Strait of Hormuz, inside Qatar’s territorial waters.
This was the first-ever combat kill for the Qatari Air Force.
However, given that Qatar operates three different fourth-generation modern fighter jets from three different countries, the US’s F-15 Strike Eagle, France’s Dassault Rafale, and Europe’s Eurofighter Typhoon, soon there was a competition for credit among the three combat aircraft.
Rafale, Eurofighter, or F-15: Who Shot Down Iran’s Two Sukhoi Jets
The Qatar Emiri Air Force (QEAF) operates a modern and diverse fleet of fighter jets.
The QEAF has 36 F-15E Strike Eagles, often described as one of the most capable F-15 versions in service globally, with fly-by-wire controls, enhanced radar, and heavy weapons load.
The QEAF also has 36 Rafale fighter jets, purchased from France in two batches, 24 in 2015 and an additional 12 in 2017. Deliveries of all 36 have been completed.
Additionally, the QEAF also operates 24 Eurofighter Typhoons, purchased in 2017.
Incidentally, the back-to-back agreements in 2017 to purchase 12 Rafales and 24 Eurofighter Typhoons came at a time when the kingdom was facing diplomatic isolation by the Arab states of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and Bahrain.
The four countries had accused the emirate of supporting Islamist extremists and of being too close to Shiite Iran.
The four countries had also cut off all air and sea links to Qatar and closed the only land terminal for the tiny peninsula.
During those days, Iran was the only Middle Eastern country that had helped Qatar.
The fighter planes were bought by Qatar to boost its aerial power to send a message to these four Arab countries. However, as fate would have it, the first aerial kill for Qatar came against vintage Iranian Su-24 bombers.
All three Qatari combat aircraft, the F-15s, Rafales, and Eurofighter Typhoons, had been conducting aerial defense missions since the war started on February 28.
As expected, there was curiosity about which fighter jet shot down the two Su-24 bombers.
According to the sources quoted by CNN, the two Iranian Su-24 bombers were shot down by a Qatari F-15 fighter.
Interestingly, just one day earlier, on March 1, three F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets were shot down in Kuwait in an apparent incident of ‘friendly fire’.
While initially it was assumed that the three F-15s were shot down by ground-based Kuwaiti air defense systems, the latest report suggests that the USAF fighter jets were most likely shot down by the Kuwaiti Air Force’s F/A-18 Hornet.
The McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing) F-15 Eagle is a twin-engine, all-weather fighter aircraft designed as a dedicated air superiority fighter. The Eagle took its maiden flight in July 1972 and entered service in 1976.
Nearly 50 years after its introduction and through many upgrades, the F-15 Eagle remains a formidable fighter.
In the Middle East, the F-15 is operated by many air forces, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Israel.
Last year, Israel signed a US$8.3 billion deal with the US to procure 25 new F-15IA aircraft for the Israeli Air Force, with an option for an additional 25 F-15IA aircraft.
In FY2026 budget requests, the Pentagon also sought funding for 21 additional F-15s, underlining the continued relevance of the heavy fighter.
It is among the most successful modern fighters, with 104 victories and no losses in aerial combat, with the majority of the kills by the Israeli Air Force.
Now, after the latest kills by the Qatari air force, the F-15s’ aerial combat record stands at 106 victories and zero losses, assuming one does not count the three F-15s lost to friendly fire in Kuwait as combat losses.
Notably, there is also an interesting anecdote to the Iranian Su-24 bombers, which were downed in Qatar’s territorial waters on March 2.
In 1991, Iran received 12 Su-24MK aircraft supplied by Russia as part of a limited post-Cold War arms deal. This was during a brief rapprochement following the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988).
However, in 1991, Iran received 24 Iraqi Su-24MK aircraft. During the First Gulf War, 24 Iraqi Su-24MK aircraft (from Iraq’s air force) fled to Iran to escape coalition forces. Iran impounded these planes and eventually integrated them into its own service.
This brought the total initial intake to around 36 Su-24MKs.
However, over the years, many were lost to mishaps. A few might also have been damaged during the 12-day Iran-Israel War in June 2025.
Now, two more have been shot down by Qatar.
It is anybody’s guess how many Su-24 will still be active in the Iranian Air Force after this war.
- Sumit Ahlawat has over a decade of experience in news media. He has worked with Press Trust of India, Times Now, Zee News, Economic Times, and Microsoft News. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Media and Modern History from the University of Sheffield, UK.
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- He can be reached at ahlawat.sumit85 (at) gmail.com
