In the 1970s, Libya claimed an illegal 12 mile extension zone of its territorial waters in the Gulf of Sidra, which had prompted the US to conduct Freedom of Navigation operations in the area, the so called "Line of Death". These operations further increased when President Ronald Reagan came to office. In August 1981, he ordered two carrier battle groups to the Gulf to challenge the Libyan claim. The Libyan Air Force responded by launching a high number of fighter aircraft toward the battle groups. Early on the morning of August 18, at least three MiG-25 Foxbats approached the carrier groups but were escorted away by F-4 Phantom II and F-14 combat air patrols. Many pairs of MiG-23 Floggers, MiG-25s, Su-22M Fitter-Js and Mirage F.1s then flew into the area over several days. The situation was tense, but neither side fired any weapons. In a couple of cases, MiG-25s tried to breach the MiG CAP by flying over 70,000 ft at Mach 2.6.
