 IRIAF Tomcats often escorted tankers supporting strike packages heading into Iraq, scanning over the border with their radars and intercepting inbound Iraqi aircraft.With the AWG-9 radar and long range AIM-54 and medium range AIM-7 missiles, the Tomcats could be used as offensive weapons without leaving Iranian airspace.United States AWACS aircraft observed the downing of an Iraqi Tupolev Tu-22 "Blinder" bomber, and the downing of at least one F-14.