On September 22, 1980 the Iran-Iraq War started when Iraq launched attacks on 10 Iranian air bases. The Mig-23s were used for ground attack and interception with the job of main interceptor task going to the MiG-21s. As the conflict wore on Iraq's MiG-23s were suffering heavy losses so Iraq decided to keep their aging MiG-23MS back as defense for Baghdad. The war lasted until August 20, 1988 and 4012 survived the war because in 1988 it was given a new serial of 23103.
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.
