I will start this post with a special thank to 'PFC Joker' whom shared this photo which I consider one of the ever greatest stills taken in Hama AB as it discloses a lot of facts here!
At the top, a SyAAF Mi-17 with serial 2972.
Inside the HAS which is located at the furthest north eastern part of the air field, a SyAAF MiG-23ML (MLD) -of the second batch with its Gray radome- housed fitted with what looks to be unguided rockets pods.
To the right hand, a SyAAF MiG-23ML (first batch) with serial 2752 looks stored in this airbase. It's known that this variant did not exist in Hama AB ever in the past, just the MF and the trainer UB. The aircraft carries 'The Factory' emblem just beside the serial under its cockpit and of course, the famous two-toned camo applied to everything has wings in 'The Factory' in the military section at Neyrab AB.
The most important part of this photo is the graveyard; it shows again one of the Ghaddafi's ex-LARAF MiG-23MS (notice the green paint overwrite the LARAF serial under flash at fin tail). It is known that this airbase NEVER used to operate this variant which was only available in Seen and She'irat ABs (before being decommissioned in Abu DhHur AB) at the time the MF and UB variants were deployed in Hama AB.
Also it disclose what I can say the first photo of a MiG-21 -it is UM here- appears almost completely with its Three-Tone camo (Ocre, Olive Green and Chocolate Brown)!! Remember the fin tail of the 2204 MiG-21bis shot down near Sabboura in 2014 HERE
