For this week's Mega I will be sharing one of my all time favorite fighter planes: the MiG-23. This was the last single engine fighter of the USSR I believe. I will add some information about it each day.
Day 1: Origins
The MiG-23 had the unenviable task of replacing the MiG-21. The MiG-21 was fast, maneuverable, it the most produced supersonic fighter jet of all time, and had an impressive service record with the Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) against the US air force. However it would need to be replaced eventually. It was a fairly small and short range fighter, and the nose intake limited the size of the radar that could be installed. It soon became clear that a new design would be needed to effectively take advantage of the new technology and manufacturing capabilities that the USSR had developed.
The MiG-23 was designed from the beginning to carry brand new technologies, even some that would not be available when the initial variants of the MiG-23 were produced. It would ultimately carry a larger and more power radar with look-down shoot-down capabilities, along with the first medium range air to air radar guided missile of the USSR: the Vympel R-23. It also featured a swing wing, allowing it to change the wing geometry in flight to suit supersonic speed and acceleration with the wings folded back, or low speed maneuverability and take off and landing performing with the wings all the way forward, or anywhere in between. A high degree of automation for the time allowed the pilot to focus on combat. One of the coolest features in my opinion though was the integration of an IR search and track system (IRST) which would allow the pilot to find and lock onto airplanes without ever turning on the radar, preventing the enemy from detecting that they're being targeted. The MiG-23 could even launch missiles from beyond visual range (barely) without ever turning its radar on, or only briefly to verify that the plane it was locking was an enemy, using the combination of the IRST and the IR guided variant of the R-23: the R-23T.
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Helped a friend job hunt, and saw job postings for basically what I do that pay a lot better (like, 1.5x). Meanwhile the head of my employment thingy, like the head guy of the whole entity, is holding up the pay raise my boss has been pushing for, and is about to go on sabbatical. So uh yeah. Looks like its gonna keep being rough in my money times. At least I have income now, its so much relief to have income, even if Its not enough to live well on. Itl get easier once I have realistic access to a kitchen and can cook my own food more often and have space in my fridge and freezer thats mine. Just the unenviable task now of finding different housing....
Surely you can do the 1.5x pay job and jump over there. They do basically what you do
I kinda dont want to. I'm finally settled at this place, I like my boss and he likes me, and my bosses boss is good even if I disagree with him. I feel very supported and the environment is incredible. Nonprofits are never gonna be the best paying, and I am in part here because of the work that the org does. I dont want to leave... I will if I have to, but I dont want to.
Oh I see, I thought this was in the same line of work and if you couldnt get a raise where you were you might as well go where you can make more money.