IRIAF is the only operator of the Persian Cats in the world with the highest air combat kills.
Iranian Air Ace Jalil Zandi – 11 Aerial Victories. Highest-Scoring Pilot ever on F-14 Tomcat
Brig. General Jalil Zandi was a fighter pilot in the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force who served during all of the Iran–Iraq War. His combat record qualifies him as one of the most successful pilot of that conflict in air-to-air combat, as well as one of the best Iranian Aces ever. It also made him the highest-scoring pilot in the history of the F-14 Tomcat.
Eight Years of Action – Many Times Single Handed
For the next eight years Jalil Zandi was in constant combat against the MiGs and Mirages of the Iraqi Air Force. He was flying the ever-shrinking operational force of F-14 Tomcat fighters, as the United States refused to ship replacement parts, missiles, or weapons for the Tomcat. By 1986 the operational strength of the Iranian Tomcat fighter wing had dropped from 80 to 25. Jalil often had to engage much larger swarms of enemy fighters that vastly outnumbered him. He was tasked primarily with defending Iranian oil fields. He sometimes had to engage nearly the entire Iraqi squadron, but he brought down many enemy MiGs without mercy.