The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (NATO reporting name: Flogger) is a variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is considered to belong to the Soviet third-generation jet fighter category, along with similarly aged Soviet fighters such as the MiG-25 "Foxbat". It was the first attempt by the Soviet Union to design look-down/shoot-down radar and one of the first to be armed with beyond visual range missiles, and the first MiG production fighter aircraft to have intakes at the sides of the fuselage. Production started in 1970 and reached large numbers with over 5,000 aircraft built. Today the MiG-23 remains in limited service with various export customers.

The basic design was also used as the basis for the Mikoyan MiG-27, a dedicated ground-attack variant. Among many minor changes, the MiG-27 replaced the MiG-23's nose-mounted radar system with an optical panel holding a laser designator and a TV camera. Ground-attack variants of the MiG-23 were also produced, and these generally saw better export success, retaining more multi-mission capability.

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale replica of a MiG-23MF "Flogger-B" fighter that was attached to the Iraqi Air Force's No. 39 Squadron. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 7-3/4-inches
Length: 9-1/4-inches

Release Date: October 2018

Historical Account: "The Iran-Iraq War" - Between the autumn of 1980 and the summer of 1990, the number of aircraft in the IQAF went from 332 to over 1000. Before the Iraqi invasion of Iran, the IQAF had expected 16 modern Dassault Mirage F.1EQs from France and were also in the middle of receiving a total of 240 new aircraft and helicopters from their Eastern European allies. When Iraq invaded Iran in late September 1980, the Soviets and the French stopped delivery of additional aircraft to Iraq but resumed deliveries a few months later.

The IQAF had to instead fight with obsolete Su-20, MiG-21 Fishbeds and MiG-23 Floggers. The MiG-21 was the main interceptor of the force while their MiG-23s were used for ground attack and interception. The Su-20 were pure ground attack aircraft. On the first day of the war, formations of Tu-16/22s, Su-20s, MiG-23s and MiG-21s, for a total of 166-192 aircraft, performed surprise airstrikes on 10 airbases of the Iranian Air Force, succeeding in destroying a large of number of fighter-bomber aircraft on the ground, but not enough to knock the Iranian Air Force out. In retaliation for these aerial strikes, the Iranian Air Force launched Operation Kaman 99 a day after the war was launched.