Currently the MiG-23BN Sits at a BR of 9.7 and has a Single GSh-23L as its only Defensive weapon, at a range where most Strike Aircraft get Countermeasures and AAMs, the MiG-23BN sadly gets Neither, it has access to dumb bombs and dumb rockets and 2x Kh-23Ms.
Sadly it lacks any meaning full way of defending itself, and i feel at this current time CM is not something we are likely to see added to the aircraft as in German Service it was removed Specifically because they wanted a bomber to be a bomber and a fighter to be a fighter, and didn’t feel as if CM fit that, however that didn’t change the payload/ordinance it could carry, as that is Unchanged from any other MiG-23 Airframe.
with this in mind i feel as if the MiG-23BN should for balance be given some form of Air to Air missile, this may be in the from of R-3S and R-13Ms, might be just 2-4 R-3S missiles, hell it could get R-60s for all i know, but i feel as if AAMs and a minor BR increase in air RB is a fair request… it would move up super sonics, which i feel 8.7s facing is wildly unfair, this is a good reason to fix both the MiG-23BN and get the thing away from facing things it shouldn’t, and after the most Recent BR changes i see this as i good time for it!
to Sum things up, i feel as if the MiG-23BN should get some form of IR AAMs added and the BR Increased accordingly.
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This aircraft didn’t use any form of air to air armament from my knowledge, it’s purely air to ground.
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In the research i have been able to do, I’ve found no reference to suggest it was removed from the Aircraft, while it may not have ever been mounted with them in German service, they still had the Pylons and Missiles in service and Capability of doing so should have the operation required it, when the Aircraft was made IRL Germany wasn’t expecting to fight in a 8v8 or 16v16 in a video game, however the aircraft still had the ability to do so, and outside of German service has been mounted to the airframe.
This also wouldn’t be the first thing in the game to get something that might not have been used actively on the airframe, and if you include tanks also not the first thing in the German TT that gets a Armament it never had, for example the T-72M1 in Germany, shouldn’t have 3BM22, as they only ever had 3BM15, but to balance it, it gets 3BM22, this would be the same case here.
Another example i can think of is the F4F (both non ICE Variants) should carry the AIM-9L, and if i recall NEVER carried AIM-9Js in German service, however in game we got a missile it never carried in place of something it did, for Balance! i could go on.
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in this YT video… whats this missile type thing the Mig-23BN fires?
Also nice camo:
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im no pro… but some sort of AGM, a Kh-XX probably 23, 25 or 29 or something
also, love the camo, think its Czech?
defo not a Kh missile because they ignite on launch… this had a delayed launch
weird, in game the BN has the same camo and claim its Czech.
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possible…altho the picture is from germany
In terms of balancing, other similar 9.7s such as the Jaguar and T-2 have AIM-9Gs and Ps respectively, both of which are superior to R-13Ms. The question is whether the MiG-23BN could mount them. IIRC the BN had APU-13 rails which could carry R-3S or R-13M. Those missiles were also in service with the LSK of course, being far more common than R-60s which were only available from the mid-80s.
I think that’s justifiable enough for their inclusion, there are of course many other examples of similar additions, just because there isn’t a photo of one mounting doesn’t necessarily mean it didn’t happen and obviously doesn’t mean it wasn’t possible.
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my thoughts exactly, adds some game Balance and makes the 23BN a bit more playable and dare i say fun.
I predict maybe MiG-23BN from soviet only armed Air-to-Air Missile
Even if it means 10.0 for ARB, it’s not like the strategy of “sprint towards a base and hope for the best” would really change. The BN has relatively low payload so its useful lifespan is low anyways. Plus unlike Western-style strike aircraft the bombs and missiles would be competing for the same pylons so R-13Ms would come at the expense of half the bomb payload
These are possible Payloads on the MiG-23BN and its max Weight, right now, you can realistically carry only the 6 bombs anyways, however, this is greater than the MiG-23MF for example… even with the AAMs the pylons would be un-bothered, reference images will be below
This is the MiG-23MF for Reference
as you may notice the pylon where you mount the 2x R-60s for example… are perfectly able to be clear, without limiting the amount of bombs capable of being taken, as the limit is by weight not amount anyways, as you can see below, single pylons are also mountable in this location.
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why the flare/rocket behind it?
Better ask for a countermeasure.
Mig-23 (any version) could use a drop tank. Drop tank pod contains 12 large calibre countermeasures.
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To increase velocity → increase penetration
Idk what exact bomb it is, but should be concrete piercing
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I think it should receive R-3S at least
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