Just some thoughts.
By the late 80’s and early 90’s, some western aircraft designers, assessed by experienced fighter pilots introduce some new factors not taken into account in the past decades. Among them, the appreciation that the need of a long and well prepared runway was a severe weakness. This was especially true if the use of tactical nuclear devices was a probable choice. Expensive and powerful fighters of the past, like the F-4 and Mirage III, or some new designs, like the F-15 or Mirage-2000, don’t have the appropriate characteristics to operate from short and not-well prepared runways. To add more concern about this question, all this runways were included in extensive facilities. Such a concentration of manpower, supplies and machines were and obvious target that would eliminate all these state-of-the-art fighters from the equation in just a few hours or days. Not only a change in aircraft design was needed, but some other considerations must to be taken. Thinks like dispersion in small airfields, the ability to operate from highways or the training of the maintenance crew to work “in the field”. Sweden Air Force was an example of this doctrine. Their Saab Viggen was designed with all these problems in mind.
Some other western designs could have good characteristics from this point of view, like the SEPECAT Jaguar or the Harrier. The MIG-29, following the old Russian doctrine, is ready to operate from unprepared runways and have a shorter take-off distance than this antecessors.
Most probably, the old Skyraider will be the perfect choice
