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 demonstrated that to accomplish the missions for PLAAF and PLAN, ground attack radar and terrain-following radar were necessary, a feature lacking in the MiG-23BN. In air-to-air combat, the RP-22 Sapfir-21 radar (NATO reporting name Jay Bird) of the MiG-23MS was unable to engage targets at long range.