Mohammed Rayyan

{{Short description|Iraqi fighter pilot and flying ace}}

{{Infobox military person

| honorific_prefix = Colonel

| name = Mohammed Rayyan

| image = Mohommed_Rayyan.jpg

| caption =

| birth_date = 1955

| death_date = 1986

| placeofburial_label =

| birth_place = Baiji, Kingdom of Iraq

| death_place = Iran/Iraq Border region

| placeofburial =

| nickname = Sky Falcon

| allegiance = {{flagicon|Iraq|1963}} Iraq

| branch = 20px Iraqi Air Force

| serviceyears = 1977–1986

| rank = 20px Colonel

| unit = 47th Squadron

| commands =

| battles = Iran–Iraq War{{KIA}}

| awards =

| relations =

| laterwork =

}}

Colonel Mohammed Rayyan (1955–1986) was an Iraqi fighter pilot and flying ace during the Iran–Iraq War. He scored 5 air combat kills and was the most successful MiG-25 pilot.Arab MiG-19 and MiG-21 Units in Combat, by David Nicolle and Tom Cooper, (2004) Osprey Publishing, p.82

Rayyan, while only a Flight Lieutenant and flying a MiG-21MF, claimed two (later confirmed) kills against Iranian F-5 Freedom Fighters in 1980. Later a Captain, he qualified on the MiG-25P in 1981 and claimed 5 more victories (3 verified by western sources). Most of his victories were F-4 Phantoms. Having flown the MiG-25 was evidence of his considerable skill, as Soviet "advisers" were stationed in Iraq specifically to limit access to this advanced jet, and only the best pilots flew them.[http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_247.shtml Exhumating the Dead Iraqi Air Force: Short History of MiG-25 in service with the Iraqi Air Force, since 1980, by Tom Cooper, Air Combat Information Group, Sept. 25, 2003][http://www.acig.info/CMS/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=37&Itemid=47 Iraqi Air-to-Air Victories since 1967]

In 1986, having attained the rank of Colonel, Rayyan was shot down and killed by Iranian Air Force (IRIAF) Grumman F-14 Tomcats.