Missing USSR airbases in the upcoming Afghanistan map

[Ronin_Gaijin]

On September 12, 1988, a group of MiG-23MLD from the 120th Fighter Aviation Regiment took off to strike targets in the Kunar River valley east of Asadabad. The Pakistanis were showing increasing activity, and the pilots repeatedly reported "visual contact" with F-16s escorting the strike groups from their side. The tension was literally hanging in the air, which erupted that day into an open clash. Gathering over a prominent landmark (Surubi Lake), the group headed toward the border. Two pairs of cover had gone ahead there in advance: the targets were right at the border strip, which is why two pairs of cover were assigned. Over the mountain range 50 km northwest of the attack site, the patrol zone was occupied by fighters of the commander, Lieutenant Colonel Sergey Bunin, and his political officer, Major Nikolay Golosienko, while Major Semyon Petkov and Senior Lieutenant Vladimir Danchenkov were located 40 km to the south. However, the F-16s, attracted by their appearance, were already in the air: from the Kamra base, a pair of fighters led by Lieutenant Khalid Mahmud from the 14th Squadron of the Pakistan Air Force took off, following the MiGs on a parallel course. Within minutes, they were informed from the ground that a column of aircraft had appeared in the air — a strike group was approaching the target. Over Kunar, it turned north, taking a combat course along the border. When the strike group formed a column to approach the target, it was only a few kilometers from the border, which the enemy took advantage of. The cover had gone quite far, and nothing prevented Khalid from reaching the middle of the stretched-out target. The closest to him was a MiG-23MLD (board number 55) of Captain Sergey Privalov, the outermost in the bearing of the second flight. Emerging 13 km from him out of thick clouds, Khalid heard his radiation warning station beep: the MiGs loitering a few minutes away were turning toward him. This was not part of the Pakistani pilot's plan. He began to maneuver, hastily firing two AIM-9L missiles from a half-roll with a 135° bank and exited the fight upside down 1500 m from the attacked MiGs. One missile went far off to the side, but the second Sidewinder exploded over Privalov's plane, showering it with fragments. The shock was severe; the pilot felt a strong impact, even his feet were knocked off the pedals. A large fragment entered the rear cockpit compartment half a meter from his head, the others slashed the flap and left wing panel, piercing the fuel tank box. A whitish trail of fuel trailed behind the plane, but after the initial shock, the pilot confirmed the plane was not on fire, remained airborne, and responded to controls.

Both pairs of cover rushed to the scene at full afterburner, and shouts and curses rose on the radio. The Pakistani pilot faced serious trouble — the firing range of the R-24R missiles was enough to hit him even before the border, and on the ground, someone even shouted: "Let me shoot him down!" However, the score could not be evened — the command post ordered everyone to urgently withdraw, fearing a fight over a remote area where the situation was unfavorable: the enemy could bring in new forces, and the MiGs had limited fuel reserves. The Pakistanis had all the advantages here, from numerical superiority to tactical situation, and an open clash with a neighboring state on the eve of the long-awaited ceasefire was undesirable. After dropping bombs, Privalov turned homeward, followed by the rest of the group. Bunin and Golosienko closed the formation, and then a pair of F-16s appeared again from behind. The Pakistanis followed, intending to shoot down the MiGs in pursuit, but they could not catch up: setting their wings to maximum sweep, they accelerated to the speed of sound on afterburner (although with an external tank there was a limit of M=0.8). Approaching Bagram, the damaged MiG was allowed to go ahead to land first. It had almost no fuel left: judging by the fuel gauge, the plane had already lost 1200 liters of kerosene. Leaving a wet trail on the concrete, the fighter taxied to the parking area, where the leak stopped immediately after the engine was shut down — the fuel was gone. Petkov, who landed next, got out of the plane and angrily slammed his helmet on the concrete: "Damn them..! I had that bastard in my sights!".

Source: "The Hot Sky of Afghanistan" Viktor Markovsky

[Flаnker]

В 12.09.2025 в 13:19, draconus сказал:

Mary coming?

Why do you think so?

[draconus]

11 minutes ago, Flаnker said:

Why do you think so?

Because of what Wags says at the time stamp I pointed to in the video it's usually a good sign of things coming but of course it's still just a hint.

[Flаnker]

15 минут назад, draconus сказал:

Because of what Wags says at the time stamp I pointed to in the video it's usually a good sign of things coming but of course it's still just a hint.

Thank you. I saw it. At first, I accidentally turned it on at the wrong time slot.