The MiG-23 was simply not up to the task
Another plane was sent in to replace an older type that pilots didn’t like, this time in the Soviet Union. The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 was the first aircraft from the Soviet bloc to include “look-down/shoot-down” radar technology, but its tiny cockpit limited the pilot’s visibility when flying, especially when compared to the MiG-21.
Many Soviet bloc air forces retired their MiG-23s when they were designed in 1970, although some are still in service today. Despite this, the plane did not prove to be as popular as some had anticipated.