Editing Flying ace (section)

===Post-World War&nbsp;II aces===
====Korean War====
{{Main|List of Korean War flying aces}}

The [[Korean War]] of 1950–53 marked the transition from [[piston-engine]]d propeller driven aircraft to more modern jet aircraft. As such, it saw the world's first jet-vs-jet aces. The highest scoring ace of the war is considered to be the Soviet pilot [[Nikolai Sutyagin]] who claimed 22 kills.

====Vietnam War====
{{Main|List of Vietnam War flying aces}}
[[File:Capt. Richard S. Ritchie, in South Vietnam - 1972.jpg|right|thumb|upright|Capt. [[Richard Stephen Ritchie]], 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron, pictured beside the aircraft in which he became the first Air Force ace of the Vietnam War]]

The [[Vietnam People's Air Force]] had begun development of its modern air-forces, primarily trained by Czechoslovak and Soviet trainers since 1956.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O88vDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT4|title=MiG-21 Aces of the Vietnam War|last=Toperczer|first=István|date=2017-09-21|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=9781472823571|language=en}}</ref> The outbreak of the largest sustained bombardment campaign in history prompted rapid deployment of the nascent air-force, and the first engagement of the war was in April 1965 at [[Thanh Hóa Bridge]] which saw relatively outdated subsonic [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17|MiG-17]] units thrown against technically superior [[Republic F-105 Thunderchief|F-105 Thunderchief]] and [[Vought F-8 Crusader|F-8 Crusader]], damaging 1 F-8 and killing two F-105 jets.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O88vDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT4|title=MiG-21 Aces of the Vietnam War|last=Toperczer|first=István|date=2017-09-21|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=9781472823571|pages=4|language=en}}</ref> The MiG-17 generally did not have sophisticated radars and missiles and relied on dog-fighting and maneuverability to score kills on US aircraft.<ref name=":0"/> Since US aircraft heavily outnumbered North Vietnamese ones, the Warsaw Pact and others had begun arming North Vietnam with [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21|MiG-21]] jets.<ref name=":0"/> The VPAF had adopted a strategy of "guerrilla warfare in the sky" utilizing quick hit-and-run attacks against US targets, continually flying low and forcing faster, more heavily armed US jets to engage in dog-fighting where the MiG-17 and MiG-21 had superior maneuverability.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KrOhDAAAQBAJ|title=MiG-17/19 Aces of the Vietnam War|last=Toperczer|first=István|date=2016-10-20|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=9781472812575|language=en}}</ref>  The VPAF had carried out the first air-raid on US ships since WW2, with two aces including [[Nguyễn Văn Bảy]] attacking US ships during the [[Battle of Đồng Hới]] in 1972. Quite often air-to-air losses of US fighter jets were re-attributed to [[surface-to-air missiles]], as it was considered "less embarrassing".<ref>{{Cite book|title=Mikoyan MiG-21|last=E.|first=Gordon|date=2008|publisher=Midland|others=Dexter, Keith., Komissarov, Dmitriĭ (Dmitriĭ Sergeevich)|isbn=9781857802573|location=Hinckley|oclc=245555578}}</ref> By the war's end, the US had nevertheless confirmed 249 air-to-air US aircraft losses<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://myplace.frontier.com/~anneled/usloss.html|title=US Air-to-Air Losses in the Vietnam War|website=myplace.frontier.com|access-date=2018-06-19}}</ref> while the figures for North Vietnam are disputed, ranging from 195 North Vietnamese aircraft from US claims<ref>{{Cite book|title=Air warfare: an international encyclopedia|date=2002|publisher=ABC-CLIO|editor=Boyne, Walter J. |isbn=978-1576073452|location=Santa Barbara, CA|pages=679|oclc=49225204}}</ref> to 131 from Soviet, North Vietnamese and allied records.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2015-03-15|title=Kafedra i klinika urologii pervogo sankt-peterburgskogo gosudarstvennogo meditsinskogo universiteta im. akad. I. P. Pavlova: vchera, segodnya, zavtra|journal=Urologicheskie Vedomosti|volume=5|issue=1|pages=3|doi=10.17816/uroved513-6|issn=2225-9074|doi-access=}}</ref>

American air-to-air combat during the Vietnam War generally matched intruding United States [[fighter-bomber]]s against radar-directed integrated North Vietnamese air defense systems. American [[McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II|F-4 Phantom II]], F-8 Crusader and F-105 fighter crews usually had to contend with [[surface-to-air missiles]], [[anti-aircraft artillery]], and machine gun fire before opposing fighters attacked them.{{citation needed|date = May 2014}}  The long-running conflict produced 22 aces: 17 North Vietnamese pilots, two American pilots, three American weapon systems officers or WSOs (WSO is the USAF designation, one of the three was actually a US Naval aviator, with an equivalent job, but using the USN designation of Radar Intercept Officer or RIO).<ref>[http://aces.safarikovi.org/victories/usa-v1.html "Aces."] ''Safari Kovi''. Retrieved October 10, 2014.</ref>

====Arab–Israeli war====
{{Main|List of Egyptian flying aces|List of Israeli flying aces|List of Syrian flying aces}}
[[File:Giora_Epstein.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Giora Epstein]], the highest scoring flying ace in the [[Israeli Air Force]] with 17 aerial victories]]

The series of wars and conflicts between Israel and its neighbors began with Israeli independence in 1948 and continued for over three decades.

====Iran–Iraq war====
[[File:Jalil Zandi-.jpg|thumb|upright|Brig. General [[Jalil Zandi]], an ace fighter pilot in the [[Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force|Iranian Air Force]]. The most successful [[F-14 Tomcat]] pilot ever with eight confirmed kills during the Iran-Iraq war.]]

Brig. General [[Jalil Zandi]] (1951–2001) was an ace [[fighter pilot]] in the [[Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force]], serving for the full duration of the [[Iran–Iraq War]]. His record of eight confirmed and three probable<ref>{{cite journal | last=Herbert | first=Adam | title=Air Power Classics |journal=Air Force Magazine |date=January 2015| page=76}}</ref> victories against Iraqi combat aircraft qualifies him as an ace and the most successful pilot of that conflict and the most successful [[Grumman F-14 Tomcat]] pilot worldwide.<ref>[http://www.iiaf.net/iiafmisc/announcements/announcements.html "Imperial Iranian Air Force: Samurai in the skies."] IIAF, August 22, 1980. Retrieved October 10, 2014.</ref><ref name="Fire">Cooper, Tom and Farzad Bishop. {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20051029123320/http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_214.shtml "Fire in the Hills: Iranian and Iraqi Battles of Autumn 1982."]}} ACIG, September 9, 2003. Retrieved October 10, 2014.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cieldegloire.com/as_45_00_victoires.php |title=As 45-00 victoires |access-date=2015-04-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017182246/http://www.cieldegloire.com/as_45_00_victoires.php#zandi |archive-date=2013-10-17 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_210.shtml |title=Iranian Air-to-Air Victories 1976-1981 |access-date=2018-03-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100323174414/http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_210.shtml |archive-date=2010-03-23 |url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_211.shtml |title=Iranian Air-to-Air Victories, 1982-Today |access-date=2011-07-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100323174626/http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_211.shtml |archive-date=2010-03-23 |url-status=usurped}}</ref>

Brig. General [[Shahram Rostami]] was another Iranian ace. He was also an F-14 pilot. He had six confirmed kills. His victories include one [[MiG-21]], two [[MiG-25]]s, and three [[Mirage F1]]s.<ref>{{citation|title=Fighter Aces: Knights of the Skies|publisher=Casemate Publishers|page=21|year=2017|isbn=9781612004839|author=John Sadler|author2=Rosie Serdville}}</ref>

Colonel [[Mohommed Rayyan|Mohammed Rayyan]] was an Iraqi ace fighter pilot who shot down 10 Iranian aircraft, mostly [[McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II|F-4 Phantoms]] during the war.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Nicolle|first1=David|title=Arab MiG-19 and MiG-21 Units in Combat|last2=Cooper|first2=Tom|publisher=Osprey Publishing|year=2004}}</ref>

==== Indo-Pakistan War ====
Air Commodore [[Muhammad Mahmood Alam]] was an ace fighter pilot in the [[Pakistan Air Force]]. During the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]], Alam claimed to have downed five aircraft in a single sortie on 7 September 1965 with four downed in less than a minute, establishing a world record. These claims, however, have been widely contested but never substantiated by Indian Air Force officials.<ref name="defencejournal">{{cite web|last=Air Cdre M Kaiser Tufail|author-link=Air Cdre M Kaiser Tufail|title=Alam's Speed-shooting Classic|url=http://www.defencejournal.com/2001/september/alam.htm|access-date=15 November 2011|publisher=Defencejournal.com|archive-date=27 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927040737/http://www.defencejournal.com/2001/september/alam.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Fricker">{{cite book|last=Fricker|first=John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RPttAAAAMAAJ|title=Battle for Pakistan: the air war of 1965|year=1979|pages=15–17|publisher=I. Allan |isbn=9780711009295}}</ref><ref name="Polmar">{{cite book|last1=Polmar|first1=Norman|url=https://archive.org/details/unset0000unse_v6d0|title=One hundred years of world military aircraft|last2=Bell|first2=Dana|publisher=Naval Institute Press|year=2003|isbn=978-1-59114-686-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/unset0000unse_v6d0/page/354 354]|quote=Mohammed Mahmood Alam claimed five victories against Indian Air Force Hawker Hunters, four of them in less than one minute! Alam, who ended the conflict with 9 kills, became history's only jet "ace-in-a-day."|url-access=registration}}</ref><ref name="Nordeen's Indo-Pak 1965 Conflict">{{cite book|last=O' Nordeen|first=Lon|url=https://archive.org/details/airwarfareinmiss00nord|title=Air Warfare in the Missile Age|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press|year=1985|isbn=978-0-87474-680-8|location=Washington, D.C.|pages=[https://archive.org/details/airwarfareinmiss00nord/page/84 84–87]|url-access=registration}}</ref>

==== Russo-Ukrainian War====

According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, during the fighting in Ukraine, Lieutenant Colonel [[Ilya Sizov]] "destroyed 12 Ukrainian aircraft (3 [[Sukhoi Su-24|Su-24]] aircraft, 3 [[Sukhoi Su-27|Su-27]] aircraft, 3 [[Mikoyan MiG-29|MiG-29]] aircraft, 2 [[Mil Mi-24|Mi-24]] helicopters, 1 [[Mil Mi-14|Mi-14]] helicopter) and two [[Buk-M1]] anti-aircraft missile complexes.<ref> {{cite web |url= https://www.key.aero/article/how-sophisticated-russias-air-defence-network |title= How Sophisticated Russia's Air Defence Network ? |date= 18 October 2022 |publisher= Key Publishing Ltd |work= Key.Aero}} </ref>