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===Arab Israeli conflicts===

===Arab Israeli conflicts===

The MiG-21 was the premier air superiority fighter in the Arab air forces from the mid-60s to the early 80s, and was prominent in the [[Six Day War]], the War of Attrition, the [[Yom Kippur War]], and the 1982 fighting in Lebanon.  The MiG-21 was equal to the most advanced [[Israel]]i fighter of the time, the Mirage III, and Israeli intelligence placed a high priority on obtaining one for analysis.  On August 12, 1966, a Christian [[Iraq]]i pilot flew his MiG-21F to Israel in a defection arranged by a Mossad agent.  The MiG was used in dis-similar combat training with Israeli Mirages, allowing the pilots to learn about the Soviet plane’s strengths and weaknesses.  This training proved its worth on April 7, 1967, during fighting between Syrian and Israeli forces in the Golan Heights.  An air battle developed between Israeli fighters and twelve Syrian MiG-21s, resulting in six MiGs downed for no loss to the Israelis.<ref>[http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/migtheft.html Stealing a Soviet MiG]</ref>

The MiG-21 was the premier air superiority fighter in the Arab air forces from the mid-60s to the early 80s, and was prominent in the [[Six Day War]], the [[War of Attrition]], the [[Yom Kippur War]], and the 1982 fighting in Lebanon.  The MiG-21 was equal to the most advanced [[Israel]]i fighter of the time, the Mirage III, and Israeli intelligence placed a high priority on obtaining one for analysis.  On August 12, 1966, a Christian [[Iraq]]i pilot flew his MiG-21F to Israel in a defection arranged by a Mossad agent.  The MiG was used in dis-similar combat training with Israeli Mirages, allowing the pilots to learn about the Soviet plane’s strengths and weaknesses.  This training proved its worth on April 7, 1967, during fighting between Syrian and Israeli forces in the Golan Heights.  An air battle developed between Israeli fighters and twelve Syrian MiG-21s, resulting in six MiGs downed for no loss to the Israelis.<ref>[http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/migtheft.html Stealing a Soviet MiG]</ref>

In the [[Six Day War]], the initial strikes destroyed most of Egypt’s MiGs on the ground, and the few that were able to get airborne were outnumbered and usually outflown.  Six MiG-21s were lost in aerial combat on the first day, and they downed only one aircraft in return, an Israeli Mirage.  The Syrian Air Force had the advantage of warning, since attacks on Syrian airfields weren’t scheduled to take place until the afternoon, and the war on the eastern front began when Syrian MiG-17s struck the oil refinery at [[Haifa]] at around 1100 hours, with [[MiG-19]]s and MiG-21s as escorts.  The strike had only limited success, and two Frescoes were downed by ground fire.  In spite of a combat air patrol over Syrian airfields, the Israeli strikes went ahead as scheduled and destroyed over half the Syrian Air Force’s planes.  With the IAF in almost complete control of the air, Egyptian and Syrian MiGs were used in mainly ineffectual hit-and-run attacks for the rest of the war.<ref name="Arab">''Arab MiG-19 and MiG-21 Units in Combat'', by David Nicolle and Tom Cooper, Osprey Publishing, 2004</ref>

In the [[Six Day War]], the initial strikes destroyed most of Egypt’s MiGs on the ground, and the few that were able to get airborne were outnumbered and usually outflown.  Six MiG-21s were lost in aerial combat on the first day, and they downed only one aircraft in return, an Israeli Mirage.  The Syrian Air Force had the advantage of warning, since attacks on Syrian airfields weren’t scheduled to take place until the afternoon, and the war on the eastern front began when Syrian MiG-17s struck the oil refinery at [[Haifa]] with [[MiG-19]]s and MiG-21s as escorts.  In spite of a combat air patrol over Syrian airfields, the Israeli strikes went ahead as scheduled and destroyed over half the Syrian Air Force’s planes.  With the IAF in almost complete control of the air, Egyptian and Syrian MiGs were used in mainly ineffectual hit-and-run attacks for the rest of the war.<ref name="Arab">''Arab MiG-19 and MiG-21 Units in Combat'', by David Nicolle and Tom Cooper, Osprey Publishing, 2004</ref>

===Egyptian-Libyan Conflict===

===Egyptian-Libyan Conflict===