Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23MLD Flogger
The Soviet Union learned as much from the Vietnam War as the United States. One of the lessons learned was that the MiG-21, while a fair dogfighter and more agile than its usual opponent, the F-4 Phantom II, only had that advantage at close range. At long range, the F-4 had all of the advantages, with a superb radar, long-range missiles, and plenty of fuel. A new design was needed to replace the MiG-21 and give Eastern Bloc pilots true beyond visual range (BVR) capability. Another lesson learned, this time from the Six-Day War, was that long runways were terribly vulnerable to being destroyed: Israeli Mirages had knocked out most of their opponents’ airbases on the first day. As the MiG-21 also needed a long runway, this was a problem that needed to be addressed as well.
Mikoyan-Gurevich began work on two prototypes in 1965. One was a redesigned MiG-21, Project 23-01, that used vertical-takeoff lift jets; this was unsatisfactory, however, as the lift jets were useless once airborne and became just more weight. Project 23-11 was more promising: this was an entirely new design that used variable-sweep “swing” wings for better low-speed handling and shorter takeoff and landing performance. With the knowledge that the Americans were also working on a swing-wing fighter (the F-111), the Soviet Air Force (V-VS) chose the latter design as the MiG-23 in 1967, and the first MiG-23S flew in 1969. It was given the reporting name Flogger by NATO soon thereafter.
The MiG-23S, which retained the MiG-21’s more primitive S-21 “Jay Bird” radar, was only an interim version until the baseline MiG-23M could enter production; equipped with the S-23 “High Lark” radar, this finally gave the V-VS a fighter with reliable long-range missile capability and look-down, shoot-down radar. The MiG-23MS, retaining the Jay Bird radar, was exported to Soviet client states, but was despised as it was no improvement over the MiG-21 and less maneuverable. The resulting backlash led the Soviets to begin exporting only slightly downgraded MiG-23MFs to its allies.
The MiG-23 supplemented (though never quite replaced) the MiG-21 in the air superiority role, and was considered roughly analogous to the F-4 in capability and performance. It was soon in combat, though not with Soviet forces: the first Flogger to see action was a Syrian MiG-23MS, which allegedly shot down two Israeli F-4s in combat in 1974. The type was decimated in combat with Israeli F-15s and F-16s over the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon in 1982, where something like sixty MiG-23s were lost; experiences in other battles were just as bad. In Angola in the late 1980s, Cuban-flown MiG-23s were barely able to achieve parity with South African Mirage F.1s; clashes over the border of Afghanistan with Pakistani F-16s proved even Soviet pilots had trouble with the design. Iraqi MiG-23s suffered against Iranian F-4s and F-14s, and Libyan MiG-23s had the dubious distinction of being shot down by Egyptian MiG-21s armed with American Sidewinders, and later US Navy F-14s. This led many Western observers to conclude that the MiG-23 was a poor design and no dogfighter.
This reputation was to change somewhat in the mid-1980s. Egypt had secretly supplied a few early MiG-23s to the United States in the late 1970s, while a Syrian pilot defected to Israel with a brand-new MiG-23MF in 1983. In flight tests, the Flogger was found to actually have better acceleration in the vertical and horizontal than the F-4 and F-16, and could outperform the F-16 in the vertical. Like most Russian designs, it was rugged and relatively easy to maintain. Those who flew the MiG-23 in the West concluded that the Flogger mainly suffered from flawed tactics and poor training of its pilots. Across the Iron Curtain, V-VS pilots agreed with the assessment. The result was the MiG-23ML, which removed one fuel tank and streamlined the design to lessen weight, and the final Flogger fighter variant, the MiG-23MLD, which introduced a dogtoothed leading edge to improve maneuverability. While these aircraft were still inferior to the F-15 and later model F-16Cs, they were far better dogfighters, and also were equipped with better radars and missiles.
Probably luckily for both sides of the Cold War, MiG-23MLD pilots would never learn how their improved “Super Floggers” would do against Western opponents. The end of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the production of the MiG-29 and Su-27 spelled an early end to the Flogger’s career. While MiG-23s continued to serve in former Soviet client states’ air forces, the new Russian Air Force rapidly retired their aircraft beginning in 1993. Other former Warsaw Pact nations followed suit, as the MiG-23 was more expensive to operate than the venerable MiG-21 or the more advanced MiG-29. By 1998, the MiG-23 fighter variants had become rare, with only Angola, North Korea, and Syria using them in numbers. 5047 MiG-23s were built, and many can be seen in museums, even in the West—there are eleven flyable MiG-23s in the United States alone.
This is a MiG-23MLD variant, recognizable by its lack of the early extended tail fillet and dogtoothed leading edge. It is configured for a fighter mission, with two radar-guided R-23 (AA-7 Apex) missiles under the wing “glove” and two R-60 (AA-8 Aphid) short-range missiles under the fuselage, along with two external fuel tanks. The two shades of green and dark brown over medium gray fuselage was commonly used by MiG-23 units worldwide, and was similar to the American Southeast Asia scheme.
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23MLD Flogger
The Soviet Union learned as much from the Vietnam War as the United States. One of the lessons learned was that the MiG-21, while a fair dogfighter and more agile than its usual opponent, the F-4 Phantom II, only had that advantage at close range. At long range, the F-4 had all of the advantages, with a superb radar, long-range missiles, and plenty of fuel. A new design was needed to replace the MiG-21 and give Eastern Bloc pilots true beyond visual range (BVR) capability. Another lesson learned, this time from the Six-Day War, was that long runways were terribly vulnerable to being destroyed: Israeli Mirages had knocked out most of their opponents’ airbases on the first day. As the MiG-21 also needed a long runway, this was a problem that needed to be addressed as well.
Mikoyan-Gurevich began work on two prototypes in 1965. One was a redesigned MiG-21, Project 23-01, that used vertical-takeoff lift jets; this was unsatisfactory, however, as the lift jets were useless once airborne and became just more weight. Project 23-11 was more promising: this was an entirely new design that used variable-sweep “swing” wings for better low-speed handling and shorter takeoff and landing performance. With the knowledge that the Americans were also working on a swing-wing fighter (the F-111), the Soviet Air Force (V-VS) chose the latter design as the MiG-23 in 1967, and the first MiG-23S flew in 1969. It was given the reporting name Flogger by NATO soon thereafter.
The MiG-23S, which retained the MiG-21’s more primitive S-21 “Jay Bird” radar, was only an interim version until the baseline MiG-23M could enter production; equipped with the S-23 “High Lark” radar, this finally gave the V-VS a fighter with reliable long-range missile capability and look-down, shoot-down radar. The MiG-23MS, retaining the Jay Bird radar, was exported to Soviet client states, but was despised as it was no improvement over the MiG-21 and less maneuverable. The resulting backlash led the Soviets to begin exporting only slightly downgraded MiG-23MFs to its allies.
The MiG-23 supplemented (though never quite replaced) the MiG-21 in the air superiority role, and was considered roughly analogous to the F-4 in capability and performance. It was soon in combat, though not with Soviet forces: the first Flogger to see action was a Syrian MiG-23MS, which allegedly shot down two Israeli F-4s in combat in 1974. The type was decimated in combat with Israeli F-15s and F-16s over the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon in 1982, where something like sixty MiG-23s were lost; experiences in other battles were just as bad. In Angola in the late 1980s, Cuban-flown MiG-23s were barely able to achieve parity with South African Mirage F.1s; clashes over the border of Afghanistan with Pakistani F-16s proved even Soviet pilots had trouble with the design. Iraqi MiG-23s suffered against Iranian F-4s and F-14s, and Libyan MiG-23s had the dubious distinction of being shot down by Egyptian MiG-21s armed with American Sidewinders, and later US Navy F-14s. This led many Western observers to conclude that the MiG-23 was a poor design and no dogfighter.
This reputation was to change somewhat in the mid-1980s. Egypt had secretly supplied a few early MiG-23s to the United States in the late 1970s, while a Syrian pilot defected to Israel with a brand-new MiG-23MF in 1983. In flight tests, the Flogger was found to actually have better acceleration in the vertical and horizontal than the F-4 and F-16, and could outperform the F-16 in the vertical. Like most Russian designs, it was rugged and relatively easy to maintain. Those who flew the MiG-23 in the West concluded that the Flogger mainly suffered from flawed tactics and poor training of its pilots. Across the Iron Curtain, V-VS pilots agreed with the assessment. The result was the MiG-23ML, which removed one fuel tank and streamlined the design to lessen weight, and the final Flogger fighter variant, the MiG-23MLD, which introduced a dogtoothed leading edge to improve maneuverability. While these aircraft were still inferior to the F-15 and later model F-16Cs, they were far better dogfighters, and also were equipped with better radars and missiles.
Probably luckily for both sides of the Cold War, MiG-23MLD pilots would never learn how their improved “Super Floggers” would do against Western opponents. The end of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the production of the MiG-29 and Su-27 spelled an early end to the Flogger’s career. While MiG-23s continued to serve in former Soviet client states’ air forces, the new Russian Air Force rapidly retired their aircraft beginning in 1993. Other former Warsaw Pact nations followed suit, as the MiG-23 was more expensive to operate than the venerable MiG-21 or the more advanced MiG-29. By 1998, the MiG-23 fighter variants had become rare, with only Angola, North Korea, and Syria using them in numbers. 5047 MiG-23s were built, and many can be seen in museums, even in the West—there are eleven flyable MiG-23s in the United States alone.
This is a MiG-23MLD variant, recognizable by its lack of the early extended tail fillet and dogtoothed leading edge. It is configured for a fighter mission, with two radar-guided R-23 (AA-7 Apex) missiles under the wing “glove” and two R-60 (AA-8 Aphid) short-range missiles under the fuselage, along with two external fuel tanks. The two shades of green and dark brown over medium gray fuselage was commonly used by MiG-23 units worldwide, and was similar to the American Southeast Asia scheme.