Operational History
Western and Russian aviation historians usually differ in respect to the MiG-23's combat record, in part due to the bias in favor of their respective national aircraft industries. They also usually accept claims going along with their respective political views since usually many conflicting and contradictory reports are written and accepted by their respective historians. Little pictorial evidence has been published confirming MiG-23 air to air losses and victories, with the exception of a SAAF Mirage F-1CZ damaged by a Cuban MiG-23ML and subsequently written-off in a rough landing, the Libyan MiG-23s shot down by U.S. Navy Grumman F-14 Tomcats and two pictures of Syrian MiG-23s shot down in 1982 by Israeli forces.
Read more about this topic: Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23
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