Indian Mig-23 firing the AA-7 missile
Posted on 03/16/2007 7:08:31 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
MiG-23MFs to be phased out, last flight on March 20
AHMEDABAD, MAR 16 (PTI)
The MiG-23MF fighters of the Indian Air Force (IAF) will take to the skies for one last time on March 20 before being phased out.
Four of the only five existing MiG-23MF fighters of the IAF will fly for the last time from the frontline Jamnagar airbase in Gujarat before entering the annals of Indian military aviation history, official sources said today.
The fifth aircraft will be kept on display, they said.
Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi and South Western Air Command chief Air Marshal P K Mehra will be among those present to bid adieu to the fighters that were inducted into the IAF in the 1980s.
The MiG-23MF is a swing-wing interceptor able to vary the angle of its wings in three different positions to increase or decrease flying speeds, the sources said.
The fighter has a top speed of 2.35 Mach (approximately 2,500 km per hour) and was the first IAF aircraft to be equipped with beyond visual range (BVR) air-to-air missiles.
The last flight of these aircaft is special as they are part of the 224 squadron (nicknamed the Warlords) which was among the only two units (the other being 223 squadron) to have ever operated the swing-wing variant of the MiG-23s in countering possible threats from Pakistan's F-16s.
While 223 squadron switched over to MiG-29ASF jets in May 89, the Warlords continued operating the jets till date.
After this last symbolic flight, the 224 squadron will take a brief hiatus till the IAF buys new aircraft to equip the formation, sources said.
The sources these MiG variants, which are arguably the world's most powerful single-engine fighter jets, will be kept as gate-guardians or become part of the IAF's aviation history.
Some of the aircraft will be sent to the Air Force Academy at Dundigul in Hyderabad and the Air Force Museum in New Delhi. One each will be given to Vadodara and the army while another will be put up as a gate-guardian in Jamnagar, the sources said.
The MiG-23MFs carried 96 rockets or 1.5 tonnes of bombs of 100, 250 or 500 kg and had the ability to also assume air defence and ground attack roles.
With their MiG-23s, the Warlords had participated in various operations including the air defence of the Siachen glacier during 1985-86.
The 224 squadron was adjudged the best overall fighter unit of the Western Air Command in the same year.
The Warlords had the unique distinction of operating the first fighter aircraft from Thoise airfield in Ladakh on October 28, 1995.
During Operation Safed Sagar, the IAF's participation in the 1999 Kargil confilct, the squadron operated a six- aircraft detachment in the western sector and undertook round-the-clock air defence of Saurashtra and Kutch regions in Gujarat.
Indian Mig-23 firing the AA-7 missile
Don't be sad, the SU-30MKI is far better.
..yeah they were making too many holes in the ground
Would make barely adequate target drones.........
Probably the world's worst dogfighter, as the Libyans can attest to...
Thought those were SU-22s.
No, the ones that VF-32 shot down on January 4, 1989 over the Gulf of Sidra were definitely MiG-23 Floggers.
There were two Navy F-14 shootdowns of Lybian aircraft. Su-22 in 1981 and MiG-23 in 1989.
OK, I stand corrected. I was thinking of the '81 incident.
Well you are awarding that title based on one incident!!!The Flogger had a less than impressive combat record,but it did down a few aircraft over Angola & Afghanistan,if im not mistaken.I think you need to consider the Mig-25 for that title-even a C-130 could outturn those!!
Maybe definitely better,but it's a twin engined beast.I'd have preferred a combo of single & twin engined jets much like the USAF or the Israelis-with something like the French Mirage-2005 backing up the Sukhois.
But I guess the Foxbat's speed does make up a little bit for that.
Well maybe I exaggerated that !!!afterall it did score Iraq's only air to air kill of Desert Storm.But the Foxbat had virtually no agility & it's range was poor due to it's thirsty engines.The Mig-31 was developed to overcome those flaws.
An Iraqi MiG-25 did get a Predator in December 2002. The Predator launched a Stinger, but the MiGs missile struck first.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=76a_1173456397
Now, as far as the MiG-23 is concerned, it was supposed to be a successor to the excellent MiG-21 Fishbed, but the Soviets tried to use the same swing-wing technology that the U.S. was incorporating into the F-111 and F-14 in the late 1960s. It didn't work so well for them, and as a result, the MiG-23 is a mediocre fighter at best. Personally, if I had to go into aerial combat against American aircraft, I'd much rather be flying a MiG-21, or one of the newer aircraft such as the MiG-29 or SU-27.
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