Goodbye FLOGGER!

In my brothers' inventory of books spanning from History to Genetics, from Anthropology to Circuit design, there was just one book which I vividly remember. It was a small hardbound pocket book with glossy gray scale pages, on each left page there was a aircraft and its description and on the right it had top, front and side view sketches of the same. It was my all time favourite childhood book, "Observer's Book of Aircraft". In the pre-internet era, it was one of the most enriching and concise sources of information on aircrafts. On one of its pages, there was the formidable Mikoyan Gurevich 23, or what we better know as MiG 23. Indian Air Force today retired its last squadron of MiG 23BNs code named by NATO as the FLOGGER.

Although MiG23 was not the best machine to take off from the MiG factory, its ground attack version MiG23BN was the most advance machine of its time. It was developed in responce to rising reports of inefficiencies in the predecessor MiG21 (FISHBED), but the need of the hour was to create a machine to counter legendary F-16s deployed by NATO (papa US to be precise). The result was not as exemplary as F-16 but it was a ground attack fighter way ahead of its time, in both technology and build. Though it was a single engine aircraft as F-16, it had a dual air intake vents and increasing its air intake and adding to the stability of the aerodynamics.

India procured these machines in 1981 in responce to Pakistan adding F-16A to its arsenal and renamed it Vijay. IAF used them in Freeing Siachen in 1986 and Kargil in 1999, being a top of the line ground attack machine it felt short on air to air combat, but when used wisely they were nothing short of terror, India deployed them to roles which required extensive ground attack without the danger of air resistance, unlike Syria which led it into air to air combat against the dreaded Israeli fighters pilots in 1981-85, wherein Israelis allegedly shot down 30 of them in 5 yrs time.

MiG23 was never a darling of Indian media, It always stayed in the shadow of brother MiG25 and cousin Sukhoi 30, also it was known for its dubious safety record and frequent engine troubles, second only to notorious younger sibling MiG21. Its massive maintanance bill led to its retirement, none the less Vijay served its purpose by being the thunder and storm in its haydays and faded off to dignity silently as mentioned by ACM Fali Homi Major.

Bidding adeu to Flogger, IAF now has, Su30MKI, MiG27, MiG29, Mirage 2000, Jaguar and Canberra, it recently retired the legendary and best reco aircraft ever made, the MiG25.