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'
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HISTORY: |
First Flight | 10 June 1967 |
Service Entry
| 1973
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CREW:
| 1 pilot
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ESTIMATED COST:
| unknown
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AIRFOIL SECTIONS: |
Wing Root | TsAGI SR-12S (6.5%) |
Wing Tip | TsAGI SR-12S (5.5%)
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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
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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)
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PROPULSION: |
Powerplant | one Khachaturov R-35-300 afterburningturbojet |
Thrust
| 28,660 lb (127.5 kN) with afterburner
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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
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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
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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
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KNOWN COMBATRECORD: | Lebanon (Syria,1982) Iran-Iraq War (Iraq, 1980-1988) Gulf War (Iraq, 1991) Iraq - Operation Desert Fox (Iraq, 1998)
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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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3-VIEW SCHEMATIC: |