Well afaik the Mig-29K being built atm are new airframes( and currently the only exponents of the new unified family), as oposed to the Mig-35 demonstrator which is basically an updated Mig-29M from the eighties…
Correct me if i’m wrong , but a new Mig-35 would be basically a K/KUB without folding wings, but with the corosion treatment , new improved contruction fuselage, but without the Kruger devices , and the hardpoint under the fuselage ,and maby small size flaps( thats only speculaton tho)…
Guess we have to wait for pics from different angles of 961 to see those details aswell…

Holly cow , Syrian MLD is awesome!:eek:

Interesting that it doesnt have the dispensers at the base of the fin , and no serials on the nose…

Thanks, great find!

My guess at general internal layout. I kept the T-50 canopy on purpose.

I concur to everyone’s opinion here , THAT is bloody nice ,marvelous work Planeman! ( i also concur about the IFR probe …;))

( and i’m not sure about the folding RVV-MD/R-73…but i might be wrong)

Can anyone tell me what can be considered the most advanced version of the MiG-23? And, what weapons/equipment did/does it carry? Also, did the program to convert the MiG-23 to a pretty modern jet using the R77 ever materialize, I’d liked to have seen some MiG-21 Bison type upgrade on the 23.

USS>

MLD was the most advanced operational version. There were several other prototypes based on it ,both domestic and for export with various improvements including ECM , but none were proceeded with …Mig-29 was in the pipeline.

Equipement …well lets see, N-008 radar( Sapphire-23MLA-2) , TP-26 IRST, SPO-15L RWR, BVP-50-60 chaff/flare dispenser in overwing strakes ,A-321 digital nav system,LAZUR ARL-SM ground control datalink system, R-862 radio, ASP-17MLD computing gunsight wich also serve a radar indicator…plus various other items, RV-5 radioalt ,autopilot , angle of attack limitator and control system etc etc ..thats what i can remember from the top of my head…( hope i didnt made any mistakes)

Armament:R-24R/T BVR missiles , R-60 or R-73 close range dogfight missiles, Gs-23L gun , various bombs and unguided rockets for A/G work…

Upgrade pojects , several of them offered in the nineties, most advanced of them offering new radar ( Moskit-23), new missiles including R-77 , new A/G guided weapons etc …Only Angola’s Mig-23s are rumored to be upgraded significantly ,allegedly allowing them to fire R-77s, and i guess the above angolan ML(D) picture suports this rumour ( that they got /are getting upgraded) strongly …

Hope this helps:)

Does anyone have a pic of Lybian MLD showing the nose close enough to read the stencils there? Thank you.

To remain on topic, what is a 23-16 then? is that an initial project for the “full” MLD (23-18) or …:confused:

If you get a copy of combat aircraft magazine this month it has an article in it about Lybian Mig-23’s. They operate the MLA and MS? versions. It was an interesting read.

I’ve read the article aswell , nice pics , but the info there lefts to be desired IMO…

Lybians had MS , MF( suported by photographic evidence) and the export MLDs surfaced recently …

I’d be very curious to read lybian MLD nose stencils…because thats the only other country apart from Syria and Bulgaria as far as i know that got the export MLDs .( Irak-as mentioned in the russian book-aparently didnt…at leats i’v never seen any , and surely something must have surfaced in the last 7 years since they were ocupied by the americans , if they realy had them…( they upgraded locally their MLs with SPO-15 and ASO-2 , but thats another story)

Re: Interesting is that when the Bulgarian Mig-23MLD 23-22A was equipped with N-008E, but the “B variant” for third world allies was equipped with N-003E.

Syrian MLD nose stencils…

No, first.

In KnA.

It’s T-50-1

Thank you for the info! Any news on second flight ?:)