Profile
- Type
- Variable-sweep fighter and fighter-bomber aircraft
- Conflict side
- Libyan National Army
- Origin
- Soviet Union
- Service note
- Cold War fighter design with limited later conflict use
Aircraft & UAVs
MiG-23
The MiG-23, NATO reporting name Flogger, is a Soviet variable-sweep fighter family designed as a faster, more heavily armed successor to the MiG-21. Export and attack variants remained in service with several air arms after the Cold War, including Libyan aircraft used for air-to-ground strike missions during the 2014-2020 civil war.
- Conflict side
- Libyan National Army
- Built by
- Mikoyan-Gurevich
- Built in
- Soviet Union
Service History
- In service
- Introduced in the 1970s; later retained by some export operators
- Used by
- Libyan National Army Air Force, Libyan government forces, Syrian Arab Air Force, Soviet Air Forces
- Wars
- Libyan Civil War (2014-2020)
Production History
- Designer
- Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau
- Designed
- 1960s development; first flight in the late 1960s
- Built by
- Mikoyan-Gurevich
- Built in
- Soviet Union
- Produced
- Late 1960s-1980s
- Number built
- More than 5,000 MiG-23s of all types
- Variants
- MiG-23MS, MiG-23MF, MiG-23ML, MiG-23MLD, MiG-23BN
Specifications
- Crew
- 1 for most fighter and attack variants; 2 for trainer variants
- Armament
- 23 mm GSh-23L twin-barrel cannon with air-to-air missiles or strike stores depending on variant
- Engine
- One Tumansky R-29-300 turbojet in the MiG-23MS example
- Maximum speed
- About Mach 2.4 for the MiG-23MS museum example
- Wing geometry
- Variable sweep wing with 16, 45, and 72 degree settings on the MiG-23MS
- Dimensions
- About 55 ft 1 in length; 46 ft 9 in wingspan unswept and 26 ft 9 in swept in the March Field museum example
Conflict Usage
- Libyan Civil War (2014-2020)
- Side: Libyan National ArmyRole: Air-to-ground strike around Benghazi
Used by Haftar-aligned Libyan National Army air forces for strike missions around Benghazi, including a January 2017 MiG-23 shot down while engaging ground targets.
MiG-23 Images
Related Weapon Systems
Su-24Supersonic all-weather tactical bomber and strike aircraftThe Su-24, NATO reporting name Fencer, is a Soviet-designed twin-engine tactical bomber built for low-level all-weather strike missions. In the United States-Iran Conflict, Iranian Su-24s were reported in a strike attempt toward Qatar's Al Udeid Air Base and were shot down before reaching the target. In Ukrainian service during the Russia-Ukraine War, surviving Su-24M and Su-24MR aircraft became especially important after integration of Storm Shadow and SCALP-EG cruise missiles, allowing long-range attacks without relying on newer Western combat aircraft.
F-15 BazMultirole fighterThe F-15 Baz is the Israeli Air Force designation for the F-15A/B/C/D Eagle family, adapted for Israeli air-superiority and strike missions. During the Israel-Hamas War, open-source defense reporting showed Baz aircraft carrying JDAMs on strike sorties against Hamas targets in Gaza, demonstrating how older F-15 airframes remained central to Israel's high-payload air campaign.
F-15 family fighter aircraftFighter aircraft familyThe F-15 family covers U.S. air-superiority and strike variants from the original Eagle to the F-15E Strike Eagle and F-15EX, and in the United States-Iran Conflict archive it appears through F-15E sorties supporting Operation Epic Fury in March 2026.
F-15E Strike EagleDual-role strike fighterThe F-15E Strike Eagle is a two-seat U.S. Air Force dual-role fighter built for long-range interdiction, precision attack, and self-escorted air-to-air combat. Its conformal fuel tanks, targeting/navigation pods, radar, and two-person cockpit allow it to strike ground targets day or night while retaining fighter performance, a role documented in Operation Inherent Resolve and later U.S.-Iran combat operations.
F-15EX Eagle IIMultirole fighter aircraftThe F-15EX Eagle II is Boeing's latest F-15 variant, a two-seat multirole fighter that adds digital fly-by-wire controls, an all-glass cockpit, open mission systems, and heavy payload capacity to the Eagle family. In the United States-Iran Conflict archive it appears in early fielding and training coverage rather than a documented combat sortie.
F-15S strike aircraftTwo-seat multirole strike aircraftThe F-15S is Saudi Arabia's export strike version of the F-15E Strike Eagle, built for two-crew, long-range air-to-ground attack while retaining fighter performance. In the Yemen Civil War record, it represents the Royal Saudi Air Force's F-15 strike component in the Saudi-led coalition air campaign, with open reporting documenting an F-15S operating over Yemen and being targeted by Houthi-aligned air defenses.Sources
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23MS Flogger-EPublisher: National Museum of the United States Air Force | Note: Supports manufacturer background, MiG-23 family context, production scale, export variant context, armament, engine, speed, wing-sweep settings, and U.S. Air Force image provenance. | Accessed: 2026-06-20MiG-23 FloggerPublisher: March Field Air Museum | Note: Supports manufacturer attribution, aircraft type, crew, dimensions, powerplant, and general armament layout. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Libyan military jet shot down near BenghaziPublisher: Al Jazeera | Note: Supports Libyan Civil War (2014-2020) direct use: MiG-23 aircraft used by Libya's eastern recognized government forces for air strikes around Benghazi and Derna. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Libyan MiG shot down as battle rages for control of BenghaziPublisher: Lima Charlie News | Note: Supports Libyan Civil War (2014-2020) direct use: MiG-23 used by Haftar's Libyan National Army air force while engaging ground targets near Benghazi. | Accessed: 2026-06-20File:MiG-23.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a MiG-23MLD photograph; Commons lists GFDL and CC BY-SA licensing options. | Accessed: 2026-06-20File:Iraqi Air Force MiG-23.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a preserved Iraqi Air Force MiG-23; Commons provides reuse licensing metadata. | Accessed: 2026-06-20File:Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23ML, Czech Republic - Air Force AN1346190.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a Czech Air Force MiG-23ML photograph; Commons provides reuse licensing metadata. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23MS Flogger-E cockpit photoPublisher: National Museum of the United States Air Force | Note: Supports image provenance for the MiG-23MS cockpit photograph; the museum lists the U.S. Air Force image as public domain. | Accessed: 2026-06-20