Abbas Babaei

Abbas Babaei was an Iranian Brigadier General and fighter pilot in the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (Artesh) during the Iran-Iraq War. Born in Qazvin, he trained as a fighter pilot in the United States after graduating high school in 1969. He piloted Northrop F-5 aircraft and became commander of the 8th Tactical Air Base in 1981. Described as "the mastermind of IRIAF's capability to keep its F-14 fleet intact," Babaei was instrumental in maintaining Iran's air superiority during the war despite the post-revolution loss of US technical support.

On 6 August 1987, Babaei was killed when his F-5B aircraft was struck by a 23mm round from an Iranian air defense system operated by the IRGC over Sardasht airspace — a case of friendly fire. The pilot, Major Ali Mohammad Naderi, managed to land the aircraft, but Babaei died within ten minutes from his injuries.