Trivia

Some of the ordinance carried on the F-16s in some scenes was "live" (i.e., real weapons rather than props). At one point during filming the Israeli Air Force (IAF) was called upon to carry out a strike against terrorist targets in Lebanon; a ground controller, seeing a pair of IAF F-16s already in the air with the required load-out, vectored them toward the target. They were halfway to the target when someone realized the aircraft that had been ordered to attack were attached to the Iron Eagle shoot - and that the planes were emblazoned with American markings and insignia. They were recalled from the strike in time to avoid an international incident (which surely would have been the result had F-16s with USAF markings attacked Lebanon!) See more