Mohammed Rayyan

Colonel Mohammed Rayyan
Nickname(s)	Sky Falcon
Born	1955 Baiji, Kingdom of Iraq
Died	1986 Iran/Iraq Border region
Allegiance	Iraq
Service / branch	Iraqi Air Force
Years of service	1977–1986
Rank	Colonel
Unit	47th Squadron
Battles / wars	Iran–Iraq War †

Mohammed Rayyan (died 1986), nicknamed "Sky Falcon," was a fighter pilot with the Iraqi Air Force during the Iran–Iraq War. He scored 10 air combat kills. He was the most successful MiG-25 pilot.

Colonel Mohammed Rayyan, one of Iraq's most prestigious pilots, initially flew a MiG-21 aircraft. He obtained a total of 5 victories the Iran–Iraq War, 4 of these were confirmed by the Iranian Air Force. He was later transferred to the MiG-25 Foxbat, which until then was only allowed to more experienced pilots.

Once the MiG-25 arrived, Mohammed Rayyan obtained another 6 aerial victories, all of which were confirmed by Iran. Listed are the deaths, 1 Mirage III, 1 F-4D, 1 RF-4E, 1 F-4E & 2 Units F-5E.

Mohammed Rayyan was shot down on a patrol mission over the Persian Gulf, his body and aircraft were never found. His mysterious death raised doubts about his whereabouts, since at the same time Saddam Hussein was questioned for the commissioned deaths of Iraqi war heroes.

Little is known about his personal life or family. After the end of the conflict on August 20, 1988, many military archives and documents were destroyed in order to give full credit to Saddam Hussein. After the US-led coalition to Iraq in 2003, many traces were found supporting the hypothesis of Saddam's assassinations of his pilots. The biggest proof of these being the encounter of a Mirage F.1EQ registration 4014 with marks of 14 confirmed aerial victories. The pilot in question is unknown.

See also

• Jalil Zandi
• Hossein Khalatbari

External links

• Jan J. Safarik: Air Aces Home Page
• Iraki légigyőzelmek - Légibázis