Designed following the relative poor performance of America's multi-role fighters during the Vietnam War, the F-15 Eagle was conceived as a dedicated air superiority fighter. But having trained for fifteen years in the Eagle, it wasn't Eastern Bloc-operated MiGs that the F-15 eventually came up against, but pilots of Saddam Hussein's Iraqi air force.

This book analyzes the combat between the American and Soviet "Cold War fighters" in a balanced and objective fashion, examining how the technical abilities of the aircraft combined with the different levels of training available to opposing pilots and ground crews allowed the F-15s to destroy the Iraqi offensive abilities within weeks of the start of the First Gulf War. Packed with artwork, illustrations, and photographs, this book places the reader in the cockpit during one of the last major dogfighting air wars in modern history.

Doug Dildy served the USAF for twenty-six years and commanded the 32nd Fighter Squadron. He writes for Aviation Classics and lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Tom Cooper is the recognized expert on Arab MiG operators and Iraqi Air Force combat operations. Cooper lives in Olbendorf, Austria.

Jim Laurier's aviation paintings are on permanent display at the Pentagon. He lives in New Hampshire.

Digital artist and aviation history enthusiast Gareth Hector completed the battle-scene and cover artwork.