Research revealed that to successfully perform the required missions for PLAAF and PLAN, ground attack radar, as well as terrain-following radar were needed, a feature MiG-23BN lacked. For air-to-air combat, the RP-22 Sapfir-21 radar (NATO reporting name Jay Bird) of MiG-23MS lacked  BVR capability.
Research showed that to accomplish the necessary tasks for PLAAF and PLAN, ground attack radar, as well as terrain-following radar were required, a feature MiG-23BN was missing. For air-to-air combat, the RP-22 Sapfir-21 radar (NATO reporting name Jay Bird) of MiG-23MS lacked long-range capability.