On 11 November 1990, a Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) pilot defected to Sudan with an F-15C fighter during Operation Desert Shield. Saudi Arabia paid US$40 million for return of the aircraft three months later. RSAF F-15s shot down two Iraqi Mirage F1s during the Operation Desert storm. One Saudi F-15C was lost to a crash during the Gulf War in 1991. The IRAF claims this fighter was part of two USAF F-15Cs that engaged two Iraqi MiG-25PDs, and was hit by an R-40 missile before crashing.