You don’t have to join the Air Force and wait for the next generation of supersonic business jets to fly a Mach-busting jet. The only flying MiG-23 in the U.S. is for sale in Texas and it can go Mach 2.35, although not legally over land in the U.S. The Cold War-era Soviet fighter has some updates, like GPS, a new transponder and radios along with refurbished ejection seats and spruced-up cockpits with English labels on the controls and instruments. Training is also available. The asking price is $1.4 million.
The MiG-23 was called the Flogger by NATO and recorded some significant developments in Soviet military aircraft development. It had the first look-down, shoot-down radar and was the first to launch missiles at targets beyond line of sight. It also had swing wings so it could use shorter runways. The aircraft is still in service and in combat use by the Syrian air force. It’s also in the North Korean inventory and operated by Cuba. A half-dozen other countries have small numbers of the aircraft, mostly in training roles.
