The situation in the air over Iran has traditionally been one of high tension. Technology, quick decisions, and constant awareness are what determine who is the winner or who holds the advantage. For several years, the American and Iranian military have been playing these invisible chess games: U.S. surveillance drones such as the MQ-1 Predator were frequently flying close to Iranian airspace to collect intelligence. But in 2013, a single encounter changed the course of events and revealed in a spectacular way who was actually the owner of the sky. It was a brief, almost picturesque moment when a U.S. F-22 Raptor silently materialized beside two Iranian F-4 Phantoms—thereby, it was a revision of the unwritten laws of aerial warfare.
They were already on their way by the time that instant was made known. Two Iranian Su-25 attack aircraft saw a single Predator approximately sixteen miles off the coast of Iran in November 2012. The drone was not made for battle—it was slow, fragile, and designed only for observation from afar. Still, the Su-25s advanced to shoot.
They performed several cannon runs on it, but the drone somehow survived; possibly the jets ran out of ammo. Whatever the cause, the U.S. received the signal very clearly. From that moment on, American drones near Iran would not be left unprotected. At times, the Navy F/A-18s were escorting them. Other times, the escort was something the Iranians could neither see nor expect—the stealthy F-22 Raptor from the United Arab Emirates.
This paved the way for the incident of March 2013. A Predator was on its usual surveillance flight near Iran, and a pair of Iranian fighters took off to intercept as usual. This time, however, things were more serious. The interceptors were not ground-attack planes like before; they were F-4 Phantoms, old Cold War jets that could still reach Mach 2 and carried heavy weapons. To the Iranian pilots, an unarmed drone was a piece of cake. But what they didn’t know was that they were already being tracked from above by a plane they couldn’t detect.
Out of sight from radar and hanging quietly above, an F-22 piloted by Lt. Col. Kevin “Showtime” Sutterfield was following the Phantoms. The Raptor had been the whole time, with no one seeing or challenging it. As one of the F-4s aimed at the Predator, Showtime sneaked under the Phantom to check its loadout, still invisible. Then, like in a spy movie, he turned alongside the Iranian aircraft and radioed. “You really oughta go home,” he said in a low voice. The surprise was instant. The Iranian pilots, shocked to find an F-22 at their side so suddenly, disengaged immediately, without giving a fight.
No shots were fired. No missiles were launched. But that subtle interaction altered the tone of the aerial stand-off. The U.S. had made its point—not with overwhelming force, but with presence. The F-22 demonstrated its capability to locate and dominate a fight without ever being seen. For the Iranians, the knowledge that a stealth fighter was right next to them all the time was a reality check.
When the story was revealed, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh put Sutterfield on the spot. Sutterfield drove the F-22 not only as a Reservist but also as one with superlative skill. That was more than a compliment. The narrative made a bigger point: the Raptor was not simply another fighter jet. It was the great equalizer. There was no use of numbers against two enemy planes. In the case that one side could not even see the other, the result would be already determined.
However, the real lesson was not only that of stealth technology—it was restraint. The F-22 had the power to expand the conflict, to involve, but the pilot instead employed discretion. That calm warning over the radio disabled what might have developed into a very dangerous international flashpoint. At that moment, the Raptor was not with its missiles or with its speed but rather with the power to alter the course of events without firing.
This event was also a clear sign of the widening gap between the advanced fifth-generation aircraft that were capable of doing what they did and the older jets still flown by many countries. The skill of a pilot is a factor that cannot be neglected, but one plane is at such a significant advantage that it can remain invisible until it chooses to reveal itself. This has been emphasized by analysts for a long time. They hold that stealth, when combined with superior awareness and timing, allows the battlefield so far that older aircraft are simply outclassed.
The March 2013 event was, in fact, a showcase of how air power is changing in the bigger picture. The wars of tomorrow will not always be about who has more weapons or faster planes. They will instead be about shaping perceptionscoercingce opponents into a decision, and leaving them guessing what is in the sky around them.
On that day, off the coast of Iran, the F-22 experience was the proof of this new reality. Without a single shot being fired, it showed how invisibility, patience, and timing can redefine the rules of engagement and gain control of the airspace with nothing more than a few words.