MiG-23 Flogger

Soviet Pilot who test flew captured Tiger against Fishbed and Flogger tells why the F-5 beat the MiG-21 and MiG-23 in every engagement

Soviet Pilot who test flew captured Tiger against Fishbed and Flogger tells why the F-5 beat the MiG-21 and MiG-23 in every engagement

The F-5 featured in the pictures of this article is not a faux “MiG-28” from Top Gun but a captured F-5E and… Read More

1 week ago

Iraqi Air Force fighter jets were buried in the desert by Saddam Hussein before Operation Iraqi Freedom started. Here’s why.

No Iraqi Air Force opposition during Operation Iraqi Freedom. On Mar. 20, 2003, Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) began with preemptive… Read More

1 month ago

Libyan MiG-23 pilot tells the story of a memorable dogfight he had with US Navy F-14 Tomcats

“I pushed my throttle to full dry power while my aircraft went through the vertical and pointed at the Tomcats… Read More

7 months ago

The story of the Cuban Air Force pilot that defected to the US with his MiG-23, borrowed a Cessna 310, flew back to Cuba and brought his family to America

During a training mission on Mar. 20, 1991, Orestes Lorenzo Perez flew the MiG-23 from Cuba to Key West. When… Read More

8 months ago

The story of the Iraqi MiG-23 Flogger that mistakenly shot down an Iranian F-14 Tomcat that was defecting to Iraq

The young lieutenant acquired a lock-on and fired a single R-24T. The hefty weapon detonated below the F-14A, setting it… Read More

1 year ago

F-14 Tomcat RIO explains how he and his pilot were able to face alone 5 gutsy F-4 Phantoms and come out on top

“As we flashed past their formation at 1,000 knots closing speed, Jaws immediately cranked our jet into a crushing 6.5-g… Read More

1 year ago

The story of Mathias Rust, the German teenager who humiliated the Soviet War Machine by landing his Cessna 172 in Moscow’s Red Square

After Mathias Rust’s landing in Red Square, Muscovites joked the place was now Sheremetyevo 3, as Sheremetyevo 1 and 2… Read More

2 years ago

The Cuban Air Force pilot that defected to the US with his MiG-23. He then borrowed a Cessna 310, flew back to Cuba and brought his family to America.

On Mar. 20, 1991 MiG-23 pilot Orestes Lorenzo Perez circled the Naval Air Station Key West three times, waggling the… Read More

2 years ago

USAF F-15C pilot who became TOPGUN instructor explains how he helped the Navy’s Fighter Weapons School to develop tactics to counter the MiG-23 Flogger

TOPGUN The history of air combat has seen one recurring theme—new tactics are learned in battle, forgotten or discarded when… Read More

2 years ago

Up to eight Cold War-Era MiG-23 Flogger fighter jets to be restored for flight in the US

Two Cold War-Era MiG-23 fighter jets have already been brought to a hangar near the East Texas Regional Airport to… Read More

2 years ago

Soviet Pilot who test flew captured F-5 against MiG-21, MiG-23 explains why the Tiger beat the Fishbed, Flogger in every engagement

‘Every flight ended with the same result: MiG-21 lost, although he had much higher thrust-to-weight ratio,’ Vladimir Kondaurov, Soviet pilot… Read More

2 years ago

Tomcat 4-Qaddafi 0: how two U.S. Navy F-14s shot down two Libyan MiG-23s over the Gulf of Sidra on Jan. 4, 1989

After returning to the carrier, both the F-14s received single FLOGGER 'kill' markings above the nose MODEX, although these were… Read More

2 years ago

The Libyan MiG-23 pilot that fled to a Greek WW II airfield and all the skirmishes between Gaddafi’s fighters and US and French reconnaissance aircraft until early 1981

MiG-23 pilot Hazem al-Bajigni subsequently found himself accused of intending to steal a C-130 transport and fly the plotters out… Read More

3 years ago

When Gaddafi ordered a MiG-23 to collide with a Libyan Arab Airlines Boeing 727 to demonstrate negative effects of international sanctions imposed on Libya

The MiG-23UB crew were shocked to sense a detonation on the underside or below their aircraft. A fire broke out.… Read More

3 years ago

Of Floggers and Foxbats: the story of Syrian MiG-23s and MiG-25s, the fighter jets that were never able to match Israeli F-15s

The Soviet agreement to export MiG-23MFs and MiG-25PDs to Syria was a major break-through: it was the time ever that… Read More

4 years ago

Hot Skies Over Afghanistan: That Time a Pakistani F-16 damaged a Soviet MiG-23 Attacking Targets over the Border between Afghanistan and Pakistan

The Pakistani F-16 pilot released two AIM-9L, rolled 135 degrees and left the fight 'head over heels' from within 1500… Read More

4 years ago

Engaging MiG-23 Fighters and Buzzing Helicopters: Unknown Tomcat Stories Told by a Retired Vice Admiral who flew the Mighty F-14 Over the Gulf of Sidra

"I am pretty sure that was a frightful sight for those in the Mi-2 helicopter to see two Tomcats with… Read More

4 years ago