MiG-23MLD Flogger Tags

Code named Flogger by NATO, the MiG-23 was a second-generation Soviet fighter developed in 1960s. It could carry beyond-visual-range missiles, reflecting a shift away from close combat. Its variable-sweep wings, inspired from F-111, enabled it to reach Mach 2.5, and also use of short runways, anticipating that longer concrete strips would be the primary targets of US in a full-scale war.

The tags of this release were cut from five fuselage panels of Soviet Air Force MiG-23MLD, s/n: 390312084. While tagging a rare aircraft like the MiG-23 is special on its own, the MiG-23 MLD used in the FIGHTERTAGS release was a combat veteran of the Afghanistan War. It was one of 120th IAP’s MiG-23s that were deployed to Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan as “White 38” where it flew over 80 combat missions of various tasks, including intercepting Pakistani AF F-16s, until severely damaged during a landing mishap in October 1988, a few months prior to complete Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The release includes tags in three different colors, featuring a variety of extraordinary details such as with fasteners, rubber seals, hatch locks, and more. The cards were designed to replicate the exact “vulture” emblem that was painted on the starboard air intakes of many MiG-23s from the 120th IAP during the Afghanistan War.

FIGHTERTAGS discovered several access panels of White 38 in a farm near Step Airbase, Siberia where 120 IAP’s MiG-23s were scrapped in late 2000s. The tags were offered as the second release of FIGHTERTAGS in 2024.