In October 1973 the first new MiG-23MS arrived in Syria. On April 19, 1974 Captain al-Masry of the Syrian Air Force was on a weapons test mission and spotted eight Israeli F-4E Phantoms. Realizing he had to attack first he charged the F-4Es breaking their formation. Making a turn as hard as the MiG-23MS would allow al-Masry rolled in behind some F-4Es. He fired three missiles downing two but his MiG-23MS was hit by friendly SAM SA-6s destroying the aircraft but some how al-Masry managed to escape the wreckage.
Designed as a heavier, more powerful improvement on the MiG-21 Fishbed, the MiG 23 first flew on June 10, 1967. This fighter/bomber had variable-sweep wings and could achieve speeds greater than Mach 2. It was the first Soviet aircraft capable of firing "beyond-visual-range" missiles, and the first to have look-down/shoot-down radar. As one of the most successful military aircraft built during the Cold War, MiG-23s were produced in large numbers, with more than 5,000 coming off of the production lines. Although retired from service in the former Soviet Union, many MiG-23s are still in service with various export customers.
