The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s most recent acquisition arrived with a deafening roar over northern Virginia skies on August 13, 2025. The Udvar-Hazy Center, also known as the “Nation’s Hangar,” was finally adding an F-15 Eagle to its collection. The particular aircraft, F-15C 85-0114, was a MiG-killing Eagle with a unique history.
The F-15C that had arrived at the Udvar-Hazy Center was the Oregon National Guard Wing Commander’s Jet, 85-0114. It was one of the final F-15Cs produced by McDonnell Douglas in 1987. The aircraft was assigned to the 33rd FW during Operation Desert Storm. On 19 January 1991, it was flown by then-Capt. Cesar "Rico" Rodriguez when he and his wingman were jumped by Iraqi MiG-29s just southwest of Baghdad. His wingman quickly downed the first Fulcrum with an AIM-7 just as Rodriguez entered a descending turning fight with another Fulcrum. The Iraqi pilot misjudged his altitude and initiated a split-S maneuver in full afterburner at less than 1,000 feet. The MiG hit the ground, and as Rodriguez later recalled, “The fireball just rolled forever.” It was a maneuvering kill, and Rodriguez did not have to fire a single shot. Seven days later and again near Baghdad, he was coincidently flying 85-0114 again as part of a four-ship of F-15Cs. Three Iraqi MiG-23s decided to challenge them. Rodriguez launched an AIM-7 Sparrow at the third and final MiG, resulting in a direct, head-on hit. “[The Mig-23] literally disintegrated in space right then and there. There was no debris field.” In 1999, Rodriguez splashed another MiG-29 over Kosovo and became (and still is) the leading American MiG-killer since the Vietnam War. 85-0114 also continued serving after the Gulf War, first transferred to the 44th Fighter Squadron at Kadena Air Base, Japan, before joining the Oregon Air National Guard’s 173rd Fighter Wing as part of the 114th Fighter Squadron.