| DESCRIPTION:  First demonstrated to the public during the Domodedovo airshow in 1967, the MiG-23 was a major advance in fighter design over the preceding MiG-21.
The aircraft uses variable-sweep wings which can be set at 16, 45, or 72 degrees of sweep, and variable inlets are used for improved engine efficiency.
About 3,000 MiG-23s were built before production ended in the late 1980s, and the type is said to be easy to fly, popular with pilots, and very reliable.
A simplified model was widely exported, especially to Middle Eastern nations, though success has been limited. Numerous MiG-23s were shot down by Israeli F-15s during the 1982 Lebanon conflict, and Libyan examples were successfully engaged by US F-14s during skirmishes in the mid-1980s. Though still in service with a number of nations, the MiG-23 and related MiG-27 were phased out of Russian service during the mid-1990s. Data below for MiG-23ML 'Flogger-G'
|
| HISTORY: |
| First Flight | 10 June 1967 |
Service Entry
| 1973
|
CREW:
| 1 pilot
|
ESTIMATED COST:
| unknown
|
| AIRFOIL SECTIONS: |
| Wing Root | TsAGI SR-12S (6.5%) |
| Wing Tip | TsAGI SR-12S (5.5%)
|
| DIMENSIONS: |
| Length | 54.83 ft (16.71 m) |
| Wingspan | unswept: 45.83 ft (13.965m)
swept: 25.54 ft (7.779 m) |
| Height | 15.79 ft (4.82 m) |
| Wing Area | 293 ft2 (27.3 m2) |
Canard Area
| not applicable
|
| WEIGHTS: |
| Empty | 22,485 lb (10,200 kg) |
| Typical Load | 32,000 lb (14,515 kg) [fighter mission] |
| Max Takeoff | 39,250 lb (17,800 kg) |
| Fuel Capacity | internal: 10,300 lb (4,672kg)
external: unknown |
Max Payload
| 6,614 lb (3,000 kg)
|
| PROPULSION: |
| Powerplant | one Khachaturov R-35-300 afterburningturbojet |
Thrust
| 28,660 lb (127.5 kN) with afterburner
|
| PERFORMANCE: |
| Max LevelSpeed | at altitude: 1,555 mph (2,500 km/h)at 36,000 ft (10,975 m), Mach 2.35
at sea level: 840 mph (1,350km/h), Mach 1.1 |
| Initial ClimbRate | 50,000 ft (15,250 m) / min |
| ServiceCeiling | 60,700 ft (18,500 m) |
| Range | typical: 970 nm (1,800km)
ferry: 1,515 nm (2,800 km) |
g-Limits
| +7.5
|
| ARMAMENT: |
| Gun | one 23-mm GSh-23L two-barrel cannon (260rds) |
| Stations | six external hardpoints |
| Air-to-AirMissile | K-13/AA-2 Atoll, AA-7 Apex, R-60/AA-8 Aphid |
| Air-to-SurfaceMissile | AS-7 Kerry, others (?) |
| Bomb | 250/500 kg conventional, nuclear, andnapalm bombs, cluster bombs |
Other
| rocket pods, ECM pods
|
| KNOWN VARIANTS: |
| Ye-231 | Prototype |
| MiG-23S 'Flogger-A' | Pre-production fighter used for evaluation |
| MiG-23SM 'Flogger-A' | Pre-production version with four weaponspylons |
| MiG-23M 'Flogger-B' | First production fighter |
| MiG-23MF 'Flogger-B' | Improved MiG-23M with new radar andinfrared sensor pod, major production model after 1978 |
| MiG-23U 'Flogger-C' | Two-seat combat-capable trainer based onMiG-23MF |
| MiG-23UB/UM'Flogger-C' | Two-seat combat-capable trainers withTumanskii engine |
| MiG-23MF/MS'Flogger-E' | Export version of MiG-23M series withdowngraded avionics |
| MiG-23B/BN'Flogger-F' | Attack fighter with Lyul'ka engine, revisedforward fuselage, and armor protection of MiG-27 'Flogger-D' |
| MiG-23BM 'Flogger-F' | unknown |
| MiG-23MF/ML'Flogger-G' | Lightweight fighter with improved engineand avionics |
| MiG-23P 'Flogger-G' | Fighter with digital autopilot that can becontrolled from ground |
| MiG-23BK 'Flogger-H' | unknown |
| MiG-23BN 'Flogger-H' | Similar to Flogger-F but with upratedengines and new avionics pods under the nose |
| MiG-23MLD'Flogger-K' | Upgraded MiG-23MF mutli-role tacticalfighter with improved aerodynamics, weapons control system, and otheravionics |
| MiG-24 | Export version |
| J-8 | Much improved Chinese variantloosely based on MiG-21 and MiG-23, license-built by Shenyang
|
| KNOWN COMBATRECORD: | Lebanon (Syria,1982)
Iran-Iraq War (Iraq, 1980-1988)
Gulf War (Iraq, 1991)
Iraq - Operation Desert Fox (Iraq, 1998)
|
| KNOWN OPERATORS: | Russian AirForce
Afghanistan
Algeria
Angola
Belarus
Bulgaria
Cuba
CzechRepublic
Germany
Ethiopia
Hungary
India
Iraq
Kazakhstan
Libya
NorthKorea
Poland
Romania
SouthYemen
Sudan
Syria
Ukraine
Vietnam
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