MiG-23 Flogger: The Jet That Confused Everyone (Even Its Own Pilots)

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The Soviet MiG-23 “Flogger” was supposed to be one aircraft that could do everything: intercept NATO bombers, operate from rough forward airfields, fight on the front line, and bring the Soviet fighter force into the missile age.

So why does it have such a mixed reputation?

In this video, we look at the MiG-23’s swing-wing design, its role as a fast interceptor, why it was not really built to fight like an F-16, and how Soviet doctrine shaped the aircraft. We also cover the MiG-23’s export variants, its ground-attack descendants, and why the U.S. secretly flew captured MiGs under Project Constant Peg to train American pilots against the real thing.

The MiG-23 was not garbage. It was dangerous. But it was also an aircraft with an identity crisis: part interceptor, part dragster, part front-line knife fighter.

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