In November 2009, an Emirati pilot flying a French-built Mirage 2000 notionally shot down a U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor during a joint wargame at Al Dhafra in the United Arab Emirates. The exercise included French Rafales and British Eurofighter Typhoons. The U.S. Air Force confirmed the single F-22 loss happened in close-quarters combat after the Raptor pilot made a tactical error. American pilots won six simulated dogfights against French Rafales and drew five more. The F-22 dominated almost every other engagement of the wargame. LTC Dirk Smith, an F-22 squadron commander, said no matter how magical the F-22 is, any pilot can make a mistake.
F-22 Raptor “Shot Down” By Mirage 2000…Mistakes Happen
A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor is displayed on the flight line during a summit between U.S. President Donald J. Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Aug. 15, 2025. (Alaska National Guard photo by Seth LaCount)
Back in 2009, a Mirage 2000 flown by an Emirati pilot defeated a U.S. F-22 Raptor in a mock within-visual-range dogfight during a joint wargame.
The training exercise was hosted in the United Arab Emirates and also included French Rafale and British Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft.
The F-22 heavily dominated most of the simulated sorties (which is hardly ever mentioned), but the U.S. Air Force confirmed that one F-22 was “shot down” in close-quarters combat after the Raptor pilot made a tactical error.
French and American military sources acknowledged that several fourth-generation fighters, including the Mirage 2000, successfully forced F-22s into disadvantageous positions during these joint wargames, highlighting that even the best aircraft can be shot down when the human element, the pilot, even the best on earth, makes a mistake.
Mirage 2000 Fighter. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Background on The Incident
The French claimed an air “victory” over the F-22 occurred in November 2009. A squadron of F-22s from the Air Force’s 1st Fighter Wing in Virginia flew to Al Dhafra, the UAE, to train with French Air Force Rafale fighters and Typhoon jets from the British Royal Air Force.
A month later, the French Ministry of Defense released video captures from a Rafale’s forward-facing camera showing an F-22’s disadvantaged dogfighting position, implying the French aircraft had shot down the Raptor.
But the French didn’t win any engagements against the US pilots. American pilots insisted after the wargames that the US won six simulated dogfights against Rafale pilots, and five others were draws, with no aircraft getting the better of the other.
The only lost engagement on the American side was against a Mirage 2000, and that particular aircraft was flown by an Emirati, not a French pilot.
These Exercises Show That The Raptor Is Not Invincible
The actual exercises show that all of our allies are training outstanding pilots and flying very good aircraft. And, for all the hype, we all know that no aircraft, the Raptor included, is invincible.
A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor approaches the boom of a KC-135 Stratotanker during a refueling mission over the Florida Panhandle, Dec. 14, 2022. Aerial refueling allows pilots to stay airborne for longer periods of time, increasing the mission capabilities individual aircraft can support. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Betty R. Chevalier)
Which is why the pilots in these exercises have to be on top of their game at all times.
That’s why in other exercises, even though the F-22 dominated, there were some shootdowns in mock dogfights of Raptors by F-16s, Growlers, and Typhoons.
“No matter how magical the F-22, any pilot can make a mistake,” said LTC Dirk Smith, an F-22 Raptor squadron commander.
The F-22 Raptor Remains The Standard
The US F-22 Raptor has been the standard against which all fighter aircraft have been measured for more than 21 years. Yet it still sits at the top of the mountain in terms of dogfighting ability, stealth, supercruise ability, maneuverability, and integrated avionics.
What makes the F-22 great in a dogfight is the aircraft’s thrust vectoring capabilities.
Its two engines have specially designed nozzles at their ends that can move on a vertical plane to vector the aircraft’s 70,000 pounds of thrust in one direction even if the aircraft is heading in another, thus allowing the F-22 to do some impressive acrobatics, as well as leverage a highly high angle of attack during a within-visual-range engagement.
The Raptor’s top speed is Mach 2.25 or 1,500 mph, powered by the Pratt & Whitney F119 turbofan engines.
The USAF currently has approximately 175 combat-ready F-22s in its inventory.
An F-22 Raptor soars over the Pacific Sea Test Range on December 19, 2024. The aircraft is assigned to the 411th Flight Test Squadron, Air Dominance Combined Test Force, at Edwards Air Force Base, CA. (Courtesy photo)
Flying The Raptor Is Secondary
“When you’re flying the Raptor, you’re not thinking about flying the Raptor,” explained F-22 pilot Randy Gordon in a lecture he gave at MIT, “You’re thinking about employing the Raptor. Flying is secondary.”
“Raptor has vector thrust: Typhoon doesn’t,” RAF Typhoon pilot and squadron commander Rich Wells told Breaking Defense in 2013. “What the aircraft can do, it’s incredible. The Typhoon just doesn’t do that.”
While rare, this “shootdown” of a stealth fighter is hardly a singular event. Whenever the situation or training scenario is constrained, it undermines the stealth fighter’s advantages.
However, it doesn’t mean that the Mirage is equal to the Raptor, nor does it mean that the Typhoon is the F-22’s equal. It was simply a matter of cherry-picking some exercises that were frequently stacked in one side’s favor.
China’s Ridiculous Claims About a J-20/F-22 Engagement
Recent headlines from China featured statements by Chinese computer programmers claiming that the J-20 would win engagements 95 percent of the time against the F-22.
However, that is if the J-20s had two “loyal wingmen.” The US is also developing the same program.
China J-20 Fighter Yellow. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
The Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program is a US Air Force initiative to develop a new type of uncrewed, jet-powered aircraft that will operate alongside and collaborate with crewed fighter jets. These are already flying and being tested.
However, in the same computer simulations conducted by Chinese programmers, the simulations also revealed that a single J-20 equipped with eight medium-range air-to-air missiles had less than a 10 percent chance of defeating an F-22 equipped with six AIM-120C missiles.
The purpose of these air exercises is to help pilots improve their craft while learning the ins and outs of the different aircraft involved. But if you were to ask any fighter pilot which aircraft they would rather fly, what would they say?
We know the answer to that.
About the Author: Steve Balestrieri
Steve Balestrieri is a National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing on defense, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in many military publications
