Analysis suggests that it was an air to air missile is enough for it to be confirmed A MiG was the only aircraft in the area and there were no SAMs there too Are the words of a Navy commander who flew that night and saw the MiG before the shoot down and a naval intelligence officer who investigated this not considered primary or credible by you The article was only opinionated about why was this airtoair loss not admitted in the first place not about whether it happened  Here is what the naval intelligence captain says  We were pretty sure at the beginning Then by the end of the war we were pretty much able to prove that the attack was the only logical explanation  other than his aircraft disintegrating  Iraqi Air Forces archives I read that much of them are destroyed Anyway the Iraqis did not even claim the kill probably because the pilot was not sure that he downed the F or there was not enough confirmation for it before the US admitted it