Arslan Edward Ibn Zaid was not yet 18 years old, but he already had three hundred hours of jet flight experience. At the age of 14, he had falsified his age to join the Iraqi Air Force. All of this was possible because he was the son of the prestigious Zaid Family of Iraq. His family had always supported Saddam Hussein's Baath Party regime and maintained excellent relations with high-ranking government officials.
Although Arslan was young, he possessed the spirit of a newborn calf that did not fear the tiger. He worshipped heroes, and his favorite motto was: "Offense is the life of the air force!"
This time, Iranian planes actually had the audacity to fly into Iraqi airspace in broad daylight, intending to bomb the capital, Baghdad. Arslan, who was on combat readiness duty, felt his chance had come. He immediately ran toward his aircraft: a MiG-23BN, codenamed "Flogger."
Iraq was the second foreign user of the MiG-23MS and BN, receiving its first batch of 48 in 1974. Before the start of the Iran-Iraq War, it possessed a total of 80 MiG-23BNs. however, like any country that owned the MiG-23, the Iraqi Air Force was not satisfied with this fighter. During the early stages of the Iran-Iraq War, the MiG-23BN suffered heavy losses; from September 1980 to May 1981, over 40 aircraft of this type were shot down by Iranian F-14s, F-4s, and surface-to-air missiles.
All of this was part of the MiG-23's embarrassment.
The MiG-23 was the Soviet Union's first variable-sweep wing fighter. Although it utilized this new technology like the Panda, the backwardness of its design and manufacturing meant that the variable-sweep wings did not increase maneuverability. Instead, they led to an increase in structural weight, making its performance even inferior to the MiG-21.
However, the MiG-23 still had its merits. Its most prominent features were its high level-flight speed—reaching Mach 2.35 at high altitude and an indicated airspeed of 1,350 km/h at low altitude—and its excellent horizontal acceleration, which was conducive to low-altitude penetration, high-speed interception, and disengagement after an attack. As for its ground-attack variant, due to its large weapon load, long range, high low-altitude penetration speed, and decent armor protection, it remained a fighter with strong ground-attack capabilities.
Arslan was familiar with all the pros and cons of the MiG-23, which made him even more confident in using his newly invented tactic: the Whip Attack.
It was not impossible to shoot down enemy aircraft, especially those escorted by Pandas. One method, under the direction of GCI (Ground Controlled Interception, the standard Soviet combat method), was to enter position from a low altitude of 500 meters behind the Iranian planes. Before firing weapons, one would use the MiG-23's outstanding acceleration to perform a climbing dash and launch air-to-air missiles at the target from the maximum range. Afterward, a quick return to base would follow.
This was not the first time Arslan had defied orders. Every time, the base commander would fly into a rage, but the punishment was always more for show than substance. He believed that once he entered the combat zone, the base would immediately provide him with radar guidance.
When Arslan ran from the situation room toward his plane, his wingman, Captain Omar Guben, knew things were going south. However, he did not choose to follow this bold pilot in defying orders; he had climbed his way up through hard work and thought it better to obey orders obediently.
However, Arslan's situation was not optimistic, facing a whole fleet with a single aircraft. Aside from praying for Arslan, Omar could only wait quietly.
Fearless, Arslan stepped into the familiar cockpit. The ground crew, unaware that he was taking off against orders, came up to check his oxygen mask and ensure the canopy was properly seated before removing the boarding ladder.
Arslan methodically flipped the various switches one by one, and finally, the familiar roar of the engine reached him.
After visually confirming the engine flame was normal, the ground crew gave Arslan a thumbs-up.
At this point, the base's control tower had not yet noticed anything unusual.
Arslan released the brakes, and the MiG-23 began to taxi slowly toward the runway.
"Allah, what is he doing?" The duty personnel in the tower immediately spotted the anomaly on the apron.
"Flying Tiger, Flying Tiger, shut down and standby. Shut down and standby," the tower called out immediately. Flying Tiger was Arslan's call sign.
"Blue Sky, Blue Sky, Flying Tiger requesting takeoff," Arslan shouted into the radio.
Suddenly, there was a gasp in the tower. Colonel Tasker, who was on duty, immediately grabbed the radio and said, "Arslan, stop right now! If you dare take off, I'll have you shot!"
Then, Tasker saw the tail flame of that brat's plane on the runway turn light blue—he had engaged the afterburner!
"Understood. Taking off immediately, Colonel," Arslan said solemnly.
"Bastard!"
Arslan had already lined up with the runway. He glanced at the missiles mounted on his wings: two P-60 (AA-8) short-range air-to-air missiles. In addition to those, beneath the air intakes were two P-23T (AA-7) medium-range air-to-air missiles, which used radio command mid-course guidance and passive infrared terminal guidance. Although called medium-range, their reach was only 15 kilometers with mediocre guidance accuracy, but for a stealthy attack from the rear, it was sufficient.
Due to the variable-sweep wings, more pylons could not be placed under the wings; otherwise, the missiles would scrape against the fuselage during a high-sweep-angle dash.
It was time for these missiles to show their power! Arslan pushed the throttle to the maximum and engaged the afterburner.
Instantly, a violent push against his back was felt. Arslan leaned against his seat, watching the scenery on both sides move faster and faster.
To gain maximum lift, he had fixed the wings at their minimum sweep of 18 degrees.
Glancing at the airspeed indicator, it had already reached 300. He pulled back on the control stick.
The Flogger raised its head high and pierced into the sky.
"Flying Tiger has taken off, preparing for a low-altitude heading south. Blue Sky, please guide me to the correct intercept point," Arslan said.
"You brat, get back here right now, or I won't be able to protect you! I'll have to report this to the superiors!" Tasker said urgently. What bad luck—he was on duty today and this mess happened. Who assigned this kid to combat readiness duty today? In his haste, he didn't even use call signs; he just wanted to give him a piece of his mind!
"Flying Tiger is aligned to heading 2-1-1, preparing for a high-airspeed low-altitude interception," Arslan said leisurely over the radio.
At this moment, another excited voice was heard: "By Allah, this is what a fighter pilot should be!"
The blip on the radar suddenly accelerated.
This guy actually wants to use afterburners for supersonic flight at low altitude? Tasker felt a wave of dizziness.
"Supersonic flight is not permitted at low altitude! I will begin guiding you immediately. Maintain a cruise speed of Mach 0.8 and adjust heading to 2-1-2. You will encounter the Pandas in twenty minutes." To prevent this guy from endangering the civilians on the ground, Tasker finally yielded.
"Heading 2-1-1 is correct. I am not performing a head-on interception but circling behind the Pandas' tails. Therefore, I expect contact in twenty-three minutes," Arslan had already calculated the time.
"If you already know everything, why do you need my guidance?" Tasker said. "Connect me to Air Force Command and report Second Lieutenant Arslan's insubordination."