The following footage shows Mirage F1ADs and Mig-23s refueling from Il-76T and C-130s during trials reportedly conducted between the end of the 1980s and 1994.

Noteworthy, at min 04:19 you can see a Gaddafi’s Mirage’s IFR (In Flight Refueling) probe disintegrating after a successful plug into an aerial refueling basket.

The footage is quite rare because, as a consequence of the UN embargo in 1992, the Libyan Air Force was forced to abandon some quite ambitious projects including the one to turn two C-130s and two Il-76s into aerial refuelers and give all its Mig-23 an IFR probe.

Nevertheless, this previously unseen video proves testing was conducted over a long period of time involving both refulers types and Mirage and Mig receivers.

Related articles