Specialists in Sudan carried out a complete overhaul of Soviet MiG-23MS and MiG-23UB combat fighters. They were assisted by some foreign specialists, reported the Telegram channel "Voevoda Veschaet".
In the case of the MiG-23MS, it is an export, weaker version. It was not equipped with the advanced "Sapphire-23" radar, but with the weaker "Sapphire-21" radar from the MiG-21.
The aircraft could not even carry long-range R-23/24 missiles – it was armed with simple short-range R-3S missiles.
Interestingly, this equipment was not officially supplied to Sudan. It is likely that the African republic received them from "second hands"; the exact supply chain is unknown.
The repair results are also interesting. Out of 5 restored aircraft, 2 were lost to fires in less than a year.
In April 2024, foreign media reported that the Algerian authorities planned to transfer their outdated MiG-29 fighters to the Sudanese Air Force, purchasing Su-57 and Su-30 from Russia. The first 5th-generation fighters have already arrived in the republic.
Read more on the topic:
- Peru to abandon MiG-29 fighters and hand them over for modernization to Israel or Poland
- Cruel irony: Serbia to replace MiG-29 fighters with Dassault Rafale that participated in the bombing of Yugoslavia
- Indian engines for MiG-29 and Su-30: UEC specialists trained colleagues from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited