Soviet-made MiG-23 fighter jet shot down in Ethiopia

Rebels in the Tigray region managed to shoot down one of the MiG-23s of the Ethiopian air force. Photos and videos released Online show the burning wreckage of a winged car that fell to the ground and completely collapsed.

The pilot was able to eject successfully, but was captured. It is not yet known exactly what weapons managed to hit the fighter. Earlier it was reported that the popular front for the liberation of Tigray (PFLP) has various air defense systems that are "requisitioned" from government troops.

The twenty-third was the first aircraft lost in the fighting that began in early November. Representatives of the NFL previously reported the destruction of several air targets, but this information was not confirmed in any way.

The Ethiopian air force has almost five dozen combat units. The basis of the fleet consists of outdated Soviet MiG-21s. There are more than twenty of them, including training options. It is not known how many of them can actually take to the air.

Ethiopia received its first MiG-23s from the Soviet Union in 1978. These aircraft belonged to the bn modification, optimized for attacks on ground targets. Conventional fighters also arrived.

Currently, it is known that there are 12 MiG-23 aircraft of various versions.

There are also su-25 and su-27. The first only four ,and "twenty-seventh" - eleven pieces, three of which - in the training and combat version.

In recent battles, the opposing sides lost armored vehicles, including T-55, T-62, T-72 tanks, Chinese-made Type 89 armored personnel carriers, and ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft guns on vehicles.

Alexey Moiseev