https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-23
The MiG-23 was the Soviet Air Force's "Top Gun"-equivalent aggressor aircraft from the late 1970s to the late 1980s. It proved a difficult opponent for early MiG-29 variants flown by inexperienced pilots. Exercises showed when well-flown, a MiG-23MLD could achieve favorable kill ratios against the MiG-29 in mock combat by using hit-and-run

https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/the-war-where-the-mig-23-demonstrated-its-high-potential-legacy-of-the-soviet-swept-wing-fighter
Where the Syrian Arab Air Force led the MiG-23 into disrepute, and the fighter's performance against Israeli F-15s has been repeatedly highlighted by Western analysts since as a sign that the Soviet design was a poor one, the swept wing fighter's performance in southern Africa gave a very different impression.

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/aircraft/mikoyan-gurevich-mig-23.html
For the MiG-23, the Soviet Air Force focused on improving the landing and take off, thereby reducing the take-off run distance. The military branch also required the low-level speed and handling be improved over the MiG-21. ... Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 with the US Air Force's 4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron, 1988. (Photo Credit: US Air

https://www.xairforces.net/analyses/mig-23.html
The Soviet Air Force's most significant post-Bekaa Valley undertaking was the accelerated upgrade to MiG-23MLD Flogger-K standard of the then huge VVS-FA MiG-23ML/MLA ... The Aide-Memoire for the MiG-23 Pilot on Air Combat vs F-15A, F-I6A, F-4E and Kfir C.2 refers to the MiG-23MLD(Export) version, powered by the R35-300 turbojet, rated at 28

https://planehistoria.com/mig-23/
The MiG-23 was one of the primary aircraft used by the Soviet Air Force during the war in Afghanistan. Its deployment was necessitated by the challenging combat environment, characterized by rugged mountainous terrain, unpredictable weather, and the hit-and-run tactics of the Mujahideen fighters.

https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/1162493/mikoyan-gurevich-mig-23ms-flogger-e/
The MiG-23MS was designed for foreign export and was less capable than domestic Soviet versions. It was equipped with a less sophisticated radar housed in a smaller radome. First delivered in 1973, it was given the NATO code-name "Flogger-E.". More than 5,000 MiG-23s of all types were built. The US Air Force's 4477th Test Squadron, the

https://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.php?aircraft_id=151
Interestingly, no new-build MiG-23MLD models were ordered for the Soviet Air Force. Instead conversions of some 560 existing MiG-23MLs were made. Deliveries occurred from 1982 through 1985. ... As the Afghan forces lacked any sort of viable air force, the MiG-23 was utilized heavily in the ground-attack role. These Floggers were therefore

https://sofrep.com/news/aviation-mig-23-flogger/
The MiG-23's role as a successor to the venerable MiG-21 Fishbed underscored its significance within the Soviet Air Force's arsenal. ... diminish the MiG-23's legacy as a symbol of Soviet

https://weaponsandwarfare.com/2020/11/25/mikoyan-mig-23/
The MiG-23 was the Soviet Air Force's "Top Gun"-equivalent aggressor aircraft from the late 1970s to the late 1980s. It proved a difficult opponent for early MiG-29 variants flown by inexperienced pilots. Exercises showed when well-flown, a MiG-23MLD could achieve favorable kill ratios against the MiG-29 in mock combat by using hit-and

https://weaponsandwarfare.com/2015/12/09/mikoyan-gurevich-mig-2327/
The MiG 23 was the first Soviet combat plane equipped with variable-wing geometry. Its success led to an equally capable ground-attack version, the MiG 27. By the mid-1960s the Red Air Force wanted to supplement its vaunted MiG 21s with air-superiority fighters that could also perform ground-attack work.

https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/196862/mikoyan-gurevich-mig-23mld/
The MiG-23 series served as fighter-interceptors, with a secondary capability of ground attack. The MiG-23 was designed in 1964-1966 as a successor to the MiG-21. In addition to a much more powerful engine, the MiG-23's most significant new feature was its variable sweep wing. The MiG-23MLD Flogger K version was a modification of the MiG23ML

https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/mig-23.htm
MiG-23 FLOGGER YF-113. The MiG-23 served in both the Soviet Air Force and PVO [Air Defense] Aviation Troops inventory. The MiG-23 series served as fighter-interceptors, with a secondary capability

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/why-russia-isn%E2%80%99t-sad-see-mig-23-fighter-go-away-186608
The Soviet Air Force quickly moved on to the much more successful MiG-27. Developing and mass-producing a piece of hardware as complex as a jet fighter is a notoriously difficult and winding endeavor.

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/mig-23-old-russian-jet-might-be-worst-fighter-plane-ever-207489
However, the MiG-23 would have its reputation permanently tainted when the platform suffered overwhelming losses against the Israeli Air Force: "These defeats were caused by a number of factors

https://wingsmuseum.org/exhibits/mikoyan-gurevich-mig-23mld-flogger/
The MiG-23 was the first Soviet jet with swing-wings to enable high speed flight as well as manageable takeoff and landing speeds. ... This particular MiG-23 was built in a factory about 40 miles north of Moscow and delivered to the Bulgarian Air Force on February 20, 1985. For the next 11 years the 2nd Squadron, 18th Regiment flew it from

https://pimaair.org/museum-aircraft/mig-23mld/
The MiG-23 was the Soviet Union's answer to American fighters such as the McDonnell-Douglas F-4 Phantom II. Development of an aircraft to replace the MiG-21 began in the mid-1960s. ... The first flight of the MiG-23 came in June 1967 and the aircraft went into service with the Soviet Air Force by 1970.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Air_Forces
In order to keep their involvement a secret, Joseph Stalin ordered the Soviet Air Force MiG-15s participating in the conflict to fly with the Korean People's Air Force and PLA Air Force ... 595 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 90 Sukhoi Su-27 540 Mikoyan MiG-29 2,510 attack aircraft 535 Sukhoi Su-17 830 Sukhoi Su-24 340 Sukhoi Su-25 905 Mikoyan MiG-27

https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-23
The MiG-23 was the Soviet Air Force's "Top Gun"-equivalent aggressor aircraft from the late 1970s to the late 1980s. It proved a difficult opponent for early MiG-29 variants flown by inexperienced pilots. Exercises showed when well-flown, a MiG-23MLD could achieve favorable kill ratios against the MiG-29 in mock combat by using hit-and-run

https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/last-mig23-sale-syria-from-belarus
Syria remains the largest MiG-23 operator in the world, although the fighter's importance has diminished as it began to receive MiG-29SMT fighters from Russia as aid in 2020. The fighter nevertheless took part in exercises from January 2022 alongside the Russian Air Force simulating defence of Syrian airspace, which is very frequently violated by Israeli and Turkish attacks.

https://www.flugzeuginfo.net/acdata_php/acdata_mig23_en.php
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 is a single-engine single-seat swing-wing jet fighter aircraft developed by the Soviet Design Bureau Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB. Crew. 1. Propulsion. 1 Turbojet Engine. Engine Model. Tumansky R-29B-300. Engine Power. dry/with Afterburner.

https://apnews.com/article/air-show-crash-michigan-mig-d62867da0399e1a88c385861eca5e430
A destroyed MiG-23 fighter plane sits after crashing at an apartment complex during the Thunder Over Michigan airshow, in Belleville, Mich., Monday, Aug. 14, 2023. The pilot of the Cold War-era jet noticed it was losing power and decided to eject himself and a crew member before the Soviet fighter plane crashed Sunday during the air show in

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_MiG-23_operators
This expanded MiG-23 force was also dispatched to the Angola civil war and used in air combat. However, with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the supply of parts was disrupted, and the number of aircraft in operation decreased. ... Upon gaining independence from the Soviet Union, the Kazakhstan air force inherited several MiG-23MLD

https://www.airhistory.net/photo/701143/11-blue
Aircraft photo of 11 blue - Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23M - Soviet Union - Air Force, taken by Wim Sonneveld at Medyn in Russia on 22 July 2017. ex Khodinka, first noted here March 2014.

https://theaviationist.com/2024/06/26/ukrainian-yak-52-kill-marks/
The piston-prop training aircraft received kill marks for shooting down eight Russian drones, plus other two whose destruction was witnessed by the crew. After multiple instances of air-to-air

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/how-us-military-purchased-21-russian-made-mig-29-fighters-208505
June 23, 2024 Topic: Security Region: Europe Blog Brand: The Buzz Tags: Mig-29 MiG-29 Fighters Russia Soviet Union Military U.S. Air Force How the U.S. Military Purchased 21 Russian-Made MiG-29

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/russia-s-su-57-a-stealth-fighter-too-valuable-for-combat/ar-BB1oTuL5
The Su-57 was meant to succeed the MiG-29 and Su-27 in the Russian Air Force. Interestingly, like the American F-35, the Su-57 was developed between multiple countries. Well, in this case, one

https://www.newsweek.com/russia-us-spy-drone-black-sea-crimea-1916912
A Russian newspaper said on Monday that the country's military could have shot down a U.S. surveillance drone over the Black Sea.. Pravda, a Russian daily broadsheet, ran an article with the

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2024/06/17/hundreds-of-russian-troops-are-cut-off-in-a-vovchansk-chemical-plant-as-ukrainian-glide-bombs-rain-down/
And now the Ukrainian air force has joined the battle. The air force's fighters—Mikoyan MiG-29s, Sukhoi Su-27s or both—are lobbing American- or French-made precision glide bombs at the plant.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/xb-70-the-mach-3-bomber-the-air-force-had-to-cancel-forever/ar-BB1oJuas
The Soviet S-75 Dvina surface-to-air missile (SAM) had been in development for seven years and came online just when the Valkyrie was set to take flight in 1964. It was "more than a match" for

https://www.forbes.com/sites/pauliddon/2024/06/24/the-many-closures-and-violations-of-iraqs-airspace/
In a rare incident on December 23, 2002, an Iraqi MiG-25 shot down an American MQ-1 Predator drone armed with ... those Soviet-era planes the Iraqi Air Force under Saddam previously operated these