According to official releases from Boeing and the U.S. Air Force, the F-15 Eagle has a clear-cut win-to-loss ratio of 104 to zero. But in fact, opposing air forces have claimed, in nearly a dozen cases, to have shot down the iconic, twin-engine fighter.

All the claims have one thing in common. The claimants were never able to provide any evidence for their supposed victories.

The earliest report is mostly unknown to the public. Beginning in 1978, Iraqi sources claimed that an Iraqi air force MiG-23MS from No. 39 Squadron shot down an Israeli F-15 over western Iraq. Former Iraqi air force officers have repeated the claim over the years without ever offering any evidence.

The next supposed F-15 shoot-down, from the spring of 1981, is better-known. Several different versions of the story have circulated over the decades, nearly all of them in Russian media.

In the most frequently cited version, on Feb. 13, 1981, Israeli F-15s ambushed a pair of Syrian MiG-25Ps and shot one down. In revenge, so the story goes, the Syrians set up an ambush on June 29, 1981. The Syrian MiG-25Ps destroyed one F-15 using two R-40/AA-6 Acrid air-to-air missiles fired from the range of 25 miles.

There are problems with this story. Neither the Syrians nor the Russians have ever provided any evidence, such as radar tapes or wreckage. Another issue is that the Syrian air force never actually received any MiG-25Ps. Syria acquired several batches of Foxbats, including two of MiG-25PDS interceptors, but no MiG-25Ps.

While frequently described as a downgraded export variant of the Foxbat, the MiG-25PDS was actually much better-equipped than the early interceptor variant was. In addition to the powerful Smerch 2A radar of the MiG-25P, it had an infrared search-and-track system under the forward fuselage, radar warning receivers in blisters on the intakes and big chaff and flare dispensers in place of the wing fences.

Any source citing “Syrian MiG-25Ps” is of dubious quality.

Furthermore, the Foxbat the Israelis shot down in February 1981 was a MiG-25R – a reconnaissance variant – flying over Lebanon all by itself. This is of particular importance because, in contrast to the Russian claims, the Syrians claim that a MiG-25PDS flying alone shot down the F-15 in retaliation.

According to the Syrian version of the story, the MiG-25PDS mimicked a MiG-25R on a reconnaissance sortie by flying very high and fast in the direction of Beirut. When eight Israeli F-15s rose to intercept, the Syrian pilot fired two R-40s at their leader — one from around 37 miles, the other from slightly less than 31 miles, well outside the range of AIM-7F Sparrows, the longest-ranged air-to-air missiles in the Israeli arsenal in 1981.

According to the Syrians, the stricken F-15 crashed into the sea off the coast of Tire. The Israeli pilot supposedly ejected. Recalling the same encounter, the Israelis reported that their F-15s shot down on MiG-25 with a Sparrow missile.

In a well-known case from late afternoon of June 9, 1982, a Syrian MiG-21 pilot struck an F-15D with a single R-60/AA-8 Aphid missile. Despite severe damage, the pilot of the big U.S.-made fighter managed to fly it back to Israel for an emergency landing, and his aircraft was subsequently repaired.

There are a few more claims from this era worth considering. On July 3, 1982, eight Syrian MiG-21s clashed with four each Israeli F-15s and either Mirage IIICJs or Kfirs over Beirut. While admitting the loss of four own fighters, the Syrians claimed to have shot down an Eagle, too.

There is not one known Israeli publication mentioning this aerial battle, although this engagement was witnessed by dozens of people on the ground and widely reported by the Lebanese media.

Finally, several Russian publications have cited no fewer than three further claims against Israeli F-15s – all in 1983. Supposedly, Syrian MiG-23MLs shot down two F-15s on Oct. 4 and another on Dec. 4. The Russian sources provided no evidence in support of these claims, not even the names of the Syrian pilots who were involved.

According to official releases from Boeing and the U.S. Air Force, the F-15 Eagle has a clear-cut win-to-loss ratio of 104 to zero. But in fact, opposing air forces have claimed, in nearly a dozen cases, to have shot down the iconic, twin-engine fighter.

All the claims have one thing in common. The claimants were never able to provide any evidence for their supposed victories.

Iraqi sources claimed that on Jan. 4, 1991 – 13 days before the U.S.-led coalition launched Operation Desert Storm — Iraqi fighters intercepted a formation of Israeli F-15s over western Iraq and shot down one of the Eagles near the H-3 air base complex.

Years later, retired Iraqi brigadier general Ahmad Sadik not only repeated the claim, but insisted he inspected the resulting wreck. According to him, the downed F-15 hit the ground with such a force that the largest piece of wreckage left intact was pilot’s boot, still containing most of the foot of its dead wearer.

Sadik added that some other pieces of wreckage were sent to Iraqi air force intelligence in Baghdad. And 12 years later in 2003, American troops looted the office and destroyed the F-15’s remains.

The next Iraqi claim was much better substantiated. On Jan. 30, 1991, two Iraqi air force MiG-25PDS Foxbats scrambled to intercept a pair of U.S. Air Force Eagles patrolling between Baghdad and the Iranian border. Due to atmospheric disturbances, the Iraqi ground control vectored both interceptors to a bogus target. One MiG fired an R-40 missile, which detonated but hit nothing.

Shortly after, the same MiG-25s attacked a pair of American F-15Cs east of Khan Bani Sa’ad. Facing severe electronic countermeasures, the lead Foxbat was able to fire only one R-40RD from 12 miles. By then, one of the Eagles fired two Sparrows in return. Seeing the F-15C going down and deploying flares in attempt to avoid, the lead Iraqi pilot concluded his R-40 detonated close enough to cause serious damage.

The two Sparrows missed their target as the Foxbat made a sweeping, left-hand turn toward the north. Undaunted, the other U.S. pilot fired three additional AIM-7Ms in quick succession – but all the missiles’ rocket motors failed to fire. The frustrated Eagle flier then had to break to the south in order to avoid the second Foxbat.

As the two MiG-25s stampeded back in direction of Tammuz air base west of Baghdad, they were nearly caught by another pair of F-15s. The last of three Sparrows fired at them impacted the runway 10 feet behind the rear Foxbat as it was landing.

Meanwhile, Iraqi ground radars were tracking the retreat of the first pair of F-15s. The radar operators concluded that one of the Eagles slowed while descending and probably crashed inside Saudi Arabia. Correspondingly, the lead Iraqi Foxbat pilot was credited with a probable kill. This was upgraded to a confirmed kill after a Bedouin smuggler reported the wreckage of an F-15 buried somewhere in northern Saudi Arabia.

Actually, no F-15C was shot down during that engagement – or, indeed, in any other air combat during Desert Storm. The U.S. Air Force did lose two F-15Es — one during the night of Jan. 17, 1991, another two days later – but both of these were credited to ground defenses. There’s no firm evidence of any Eagle ever being shot down in air combat.

But weirdly, one F-15 almost ended up in hostile hands. Sometime in late 1990, during the military build-up prior to Desert Storm, the pilot of a Saudi F-15C — upset at the prospect of fighting fellow Arabs — defected to Sudan with his plane.

The Pentagon issued a warning to all of aircrews about a possible rogue F-15. The affair ended in a matter of days, thanks to a quick reaction by the Saudi government. Word is that Riyadh paid about $50 million to Khartoum to return the fighter.