MiG-23BN (Germany)

This page is about the strike aircraft MiG-23BN (Germany). For other versions, see MiG-23 (Family).

◊MiG-23BN

◊IL-28

◊MiG-23BN

◊IL-28

Germany

VI Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
10.0	9.7	9.7

Class:

Strike aircraft

Research:220 000

Purchase:620 000

Show in game

Description

The ◊MiG-23BN(NATO: Flogger-F) is a rank VI German strike aircraft with a battle rating of 10.0 (AB) and 9.7 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Drone Age".

Based on previous MiG-23S modified MiG-23B that was dedicated for ground attacking and the predecessor of MiG-27 series; while it looks exactly like another previous MiG-23 series in-game, but all the GP bombs, AGMs and rocket pods will certainly tells another story to the targets on the ground while exceling its rather fast speed to leave the combat area. Alternatively it can take down aircrafts with its gunpods and similar mobility to its interceptor ancestors.

General info

Flight performance

Air brakes

Allows you to dramatically reduce the flight speed by releasing special flaps

Drogue parachute

Reduces braking distance when landing on any runway

Max speed

at 13 000 m2 200 km/h

Turn time36 s

Max altitude15 000 m

EngineTumansky R-29B-300

Type

Cooling systemAir

Take-off weight20 t

At first glance, aside from having the LSK (East German Air Force) emblem, MiG-23BN looks exactly like any other Floggers; but a closer inspection on its nose gives its identity away- due to its identity of an attacker in this case, MiG revised its nose with a flat bottom for the B variants; but BN removed the optical equipment for this exact job. Since it was based on the first-generation MiG-23 but with a R-29B-300 engine, the overall flight performance is very similar to the MiG-23M on Soviet tech tree but without AAMs; experienced players might take the use of its iconic variable swept wing for dogfights, but do keep in mind that a major problem of these 1st generation Floggers were exactly the wings, it might be sufficient to take down heavier jets like Phantoms if utilized the wings well, but having only guns for A2A operations makes it a huge target for other jets. Any extra ordnance ranging from bombs up to AGMs affects the flight model severely, so utilize its speed in missions and avoid dogfights unless in dire situation.

Characteristics	Max speed (km/h at 13,000 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	2,182	2.172	15000	36.6	36.7	133.3	126.5	750
Upgraded	___	___		__._	__._	__._	__._

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear	Drogue chute
_	_	_	_	_	_

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
0	630	___	___	___	~__	~__

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< ___	< ___	< ___	N/A

Engine performance

Engine			Aircraft mass
Engine name		Number	Basic mass		Wing loading (full fuel)
Tumansky R-29B-300		1	11,305 kg		___ kg/m2
Engine characteristics			Mass with fuel (no weapons load)				Max Gross Weight
Weight (each)	Type		11m fuel	20m fuel	30m fuel	39m fuel
1,780 kg	Afterburning axial-flow turbojet		12,666 kg	13,612 kg	14,765 kg	15,835 kg	18,905 kg
Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB/SB)			Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (WEP)
Condition	100%	WEP	11m fuel	20m fuel	30m fuel	39m fuel	MGW
Stationary	7,950 kgf	10,208 kgf	0.81	0.75	0.69	0.64	0.54
Optimal	8,282 kgf (1,417 km/h)	12,633 kgf (1,400 km/h)	1.00	0.93	0.86	0.80	0.67

Survivability and armour

Crew1 person

Speed of destruction

Structural0 km/h

Gear630 km/h

A bad news for MiG-23BN is that it has only a pair of 16 mm steel plates on the side of the cockpit as extra protection against other targets; if it does have the needs for a head-on fight or sometimes a dogfight, it might not have sufficient survivability to leave the combat in one piece.

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB2 852 → 4 146

RB8 769 → 12 750

SB9 632 → 14 004

Total cost of modifications197 000

305 000

Talisman cost2 700

Crew training175 000

Experts620 000

Aces2 600

Research Aces1 010 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

100 / 310 / 600 %

226 / 226 / 226 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Compressor Research: 7 800 Cost: 12 000 340 New boosters Research: 8 800 Cost: 14 000 390 Wings repair Research: 9 800 Cost: 15 000 430 Engine Research: 13 000 Cost: 20 000 570	Fuselage repair Research: 7 800 Cost: 12 000 340 Airframe Research: 8 800 Cost: 14 000 390 G-suit Research: 9 800 Cost: 15 000 430 Cover Research: 13 000 Cost: 20 000 570	ns23_belt_pack Research: 7 800 Cost: 12 000 340 ZB-500 Research: 7 800 Cost: 12 000 340 UB-32 Research: 7 800 Cost: 12 000 340 ns23_new_gun Research: 8 800 Cost: 14 000 390 OFAB-100 Research: 8 800 Cost: 14 000 390 B-8M1 Research: 8 800 Cost: 14 000 390 Gun pod UPK-23-250 Research: 9 800 Cost: 15 000 430 FAB-250 Research: 9 800 Cost: 15 000 430 S-24 Research: 9 800 Cost: 15 000 430 EFS Research: 13 000 Cost: 20 000 570 FAB-500 Research: 13 000 Cost: 20 000 570 Kh-23M Research: 13 000 Cost: 20 000 570

Armaments

Ballistic Computer
CCIP (Guns)	CCIP (Rockets)	CCIP (Bombs)	CCRP (Bombs)

Offensive armament

The MiG-23BN (Germany) is armed with:

• 1 x 23 mm GSh-23L cannon, belly-mounted (200 rpg)

Suspended armament

The MiG-23BN (Germany) can be outfitted with the following ordnance presets:

• Without load
• 2 x Kh-23M missiles
• 64 x S-5K rockets
• 128 x S-5K rockets
• 80 x S-8KO rockets
• 4 x S-24B rockets
• 8 x 100 kg OFAB-100 bombs (800 kg total)
• 18 x 100 kg OFAB-100 bombs (1,800 kg total)
• 6 x 250 kg FAB-250M-62 bombs (1,500 kg total)
• 6 x 500 kg FAB-500M-62 bombs (3,000 kg total)
• 4 x ZB-500 incendiary bombs
• 2 x 23 mm GSh-23L cannons (250 rpg = 500 total)

Custom loadout options

	1	2	3	4	5	6
23 mm GSh-23L cannons (250 rpg)	1					1
100 kg OFAB-100 bombs	4	1	4	4	1	4
250 kg FAB-250M-62 bombs	1	1	1	1	1	1
500 kg FAB-500M-62 bombs	1	1	1	1	1	1
ZB-500 incendiary bombs	1		1	1		1
S-5K rockets	16, 32		16, 32	16, 32		16, 32
S-8KO rockets	20		20	20		20
S-24B rockets	1		1	1		1
Kh-23M missiles	1					1
Maximum permissible weight imbalance: 750 kg

Usage in battles

For players who jumped from the subsonic G.91 R/3 into the MiG-23BN, not only it is supersonic and goes up to mach 2.0, it also carries as much ordnance as its TT predecessor IL-28. While for players of MiG-27 or MiG-23 variants, the flight performance are very similar as they were built under similar airframe but with some revision differences per blocks (batches), so some players might want to take it for a dogfight for its maneuverability as well as the variable swept-wing; but do note that this is an attacker and for BN's case, it doesn't have any AAMs at disposal at all, the only viable option is (are) the 23 mm gun(s; with wing-mount gunpods) for gunning down enemy jets with its fast rate of fire and sufficient damage; it doesn't have counter-measurements either, the airframe is also rather unprotected other than 2 steel plates on the sides of the cockpit, so for MiG-23BN's case, avoid enemies at all cost and only fight enemies when there's only one of them- any more than this number means it will become an easy prey for the enemies due to its enormous size.

But there are some good news for the jet though: it is among the fastest attacker (only slower than its Sukhoi counterpart) in game and the payload is sufficient to done devastating damage to enemies. It might not be as much as USAF's F-4C or British's Buccaneer, but the varieties of bombs or AGMs fit player's playstyle one way or another- for players who demand a firework show on the ground and create as many crater as possible, FAB series GP bombs and incendiary bombs are at your disposal; while for a safer approach or for those who are not used with manual-guided missiles like AGM-12B or AS-20, it does comes with a pair of Kh-23M AGMs using mouse control with devastating damage; if the enemies' SPAAGs, interceptors or in some occasion, helicopters with AAMs (namely, TY-90s found on PLAGF helicopters) are in business, the excellent speed of MiG-23BN will certainly helps you to get away from trouble since there are few jets that can catch up with your mach 2.0 top speed (but in high-altitude). Speed is what makes MiG-23BN unique among jet attackers of its era and BR; any prolonged fights in combat area hugely increase its risk of meeting a miserable end.

Pros:

• One of the fastest attacker in game at up to mach 2.0
• Sufficient payload for ground-attacks
• Variable swept-wing gives it extra flexibility against different targets
• Rather powerful engine for better acceleration
• Equipped with RWR for incoming radar signals

Cons:

• Lacks of flares
• Lacks of AAMs
• Relatively small ammo pool for the fixed 23 mm cannon
• Rather unprotected against enemy weaponries
• Huge size that makes it a relatively easy target for enemies

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

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• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.