Mikoyan Design Bureau, one of the best known Russian design bureaus, has developed 450 combat planes since its establishment. Russia’s aircraft plants have built a total of 45,000 MiG planes, and 11,000 of them have been exported.
It cannot be disputed that the MIG-15 changed the Korean war abruptly. First of all the thousands of Chinese troops that stormed across the Yalu pushed our forces back, and just about wiped out our Marines at the Chosin Reservoir. With the ground war going badly the swarms of MIG-15s crossed the border by the hundreds, changing the final picture. The MIG-15 with its three cannons, 670mph speed, exceptional altitude capability, plus being flown by Russia’s finest delivered the final blow to our aging B-29 fleet. The MIG-15 with their cannons became the B-29s worst nightmare.
Approximately 5,500 MiG-19s were produced, first in the USSR and in Czechoslovakia as the Avia S-105, but mainly in the People's Republic of China as the Shenyang J-6. The aircraft saw service with a number of other national air forces, including those of Cuba, North Vietnam, Egypt, Pakistan, and North Korea. The aircraft saw combat during the Vietnam War, the 1967 Six Day War, and the 1971 Bangladesh War.In July 1960 a MIG-19 shot down an RB-47H. This was the first loss of a U.S. aircraft to a MIG-19. In 1965 a U.S. 104-STARFIGHTER took hits from MIG-19 cannon fire.
The MiG-21 (NATO name Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. It was popularly nicknamed "balalaika", from the aircraft's planform-view resemblance to the Russian stringed musical instrument or ołówek (English: pencil) by Polish pilots due to the shape of its fuselage. Early versions are considered second-generation jet fighters, while later versions are considered to be third-generation jet fighters. Some 50 countries over four continents have flown the MiG-21, and it still serves many nations a half-century after its maiden flight. The fighter made aviation records. At least by name, it is the most-produced supersonic jet aircraft in aviation history and the most-produced combat aircraft since the Korean War, and it had the longest production run of a combat aircraft.More than 10,000 MIG-21s have been built. Speed reported at 1385 mph (mach 2.1). One twin barreled 23mm cannon and one single barreled NR-30. Rate of climb: 58,000 ft. in one minute.
The MiG-25,originating in the late 50s as a response to the ambitious Lockheed YF-12A development. Referred to inside the OKB as the Ye-155P-1 (P for Perekhvatchik or Interceptor), the prototype was powered by two Mikulin-Tumansky R-15B-300 turbojets (rated at 10,210 kg thrust with afterburner with a service life of only 150 hours). It's first flight was in September.
Mass production of the MiG-25P Foxbat-A interceptor commenced in 1969 but the type didn't enter service with the Soviet Air Force until 1973, to be followed by the improved MiG-25PD in 1978. The Tumansky engineers also managed to extend engine service life in stages to 1000 hours.
With the MiG-25's impressive operational envelope, the obvious step was to develop the type into a high-altitude supersonic reconnaissance aircraft. It was designed and built in 1961 to 1962 as the Ye-155R-1. The prototype was first flown in March 1964, powered by the same Tumansky R-15BD-300 engine type fitted to the MiG-25P.
The Ye-155R-1 engine entered into production in 1969 at the Gorki factory as the MiG-25R Foxbat-B, followed one year later by the MiG-25RB, giving the type a bombing capability. All MiG-25Rs already built were upgraded with retrofit kits to the standard of the MiG-25RB reconnaissance/bomber variant, which was further developed in several specialized subtypes.
The MiG-25RB has no defensive armament but relies on its Mach 3 speed and operating ceiling of above 70,000 feet to escape any attacker. Two left-to-right rotating cameras of a focal length of 650 mm and/or 13000 mm can be fitted in the three interchangeable camera bays located in the nose cone of the aircraft. The two cameras shoot through two port and two starboard windows, and a vertical camera with a shorter focal length is located under the cockpit to make the horizon-to-horizon shots.
The aircraft is also equipped with a number of electromagnetic-spectrum sensors along with a larger and more capable side-looking airborne radar (SLAR). The MiG-25RB can also carry up to six 500 kg bombs, four under the wings and two under the fuselage. With a length of over 22 metres, the MiG-25 is as long as a Fokker F-27 Friendship.
As the MiG-25 represented an entirely new performance envelope for combat pilots, a dedicated conversion trainer was developed. Named MiG-25U, which first flew in 1973 and entered service soon after, it differed from the standard MiG-25 variants in having a totally redesigned forward fuselage component containing two seperate cockpits. The type has no SLAR nor any reconnaissance capability and is solely used for conversion training. Algeria, Bulgaria, Iraq and Syria were other export customers of the MiG-25RB, and more than 700 MiG-25 of all variants had been built when production came to an end in late 1984.
The MiG-29 fighter is equipped with seven external weapon hardpoints.The aircraft can carry: up to two R-27 air-to-air medium-range missiles; six R-73 and R-60 air-to-air short range missiles; four pods of S-5, S-8, S-24 unguided rockets; air bombs weighing up to 3,000kg; and 30mm built-in aircraft gun with 150 rounds of ammunition.
The Vympel R-60 (Nato codename AA-8 Aphid) short-range air-to-air missile can engage targets manoeuvring at an acceleration up to 12g. The R-60M has an expanded range of target designation angles to ±20°, a heavier warhead and an upgraded infrared homing head with photodetector cooling.
The aircraft is equipped with an information and fire control radar system comprising: an N-019 radar developed by Phazotron Research and Production Company, Moscow; an infrared search and track sensor; a laser rangefinder; and a helmet-mounted target designator.
For longer-range air combat, the MiG-29 uses radar guidance for the R-27 missile.
Thales TopSight-E helmet-mounted sight and display (HMDS) is being fitted to aircraft for the Indian Navy.
The engines provide a maximum speed of 2,400km/h at altitude and 1,500km/h near the ground and the service ceiling is 18,000m. The maximum range at altitude is 1,500km and 700km near the ground.
RD-33 engines for Indian Air Force MiG-29 aircraft are to be license-built in India, under an agreement signed in January 2007.
There are in the region of 600 MiG-29 variants in service with the Russian Air Force.The fighter is also in service with the air forces of Algeria (30 aircraft), Bangladesh (eight), Belarus (50), Bulgaria (20), Cuba (18), Eritrea (five), Germany (23), Hungary (21), India (70), Iran (35), Kazakhstan (40), Malaysia (16), Myanmar (ten), North Korea (35), Peru (18), Poland (18), Romania (15), Slovakia (23), Syria (50), Sudan (ten), Turkmenistan (20), Ukraine (220), Uzbekistan (30) and Yemen (24).
"The mission of the MiG-29 is to destroy hostile air targets within radar coverage limits."
The 22 MiG-29 aircraft in the German Air Force have been leased to the Polish Air Force. The first five were handed over in September 2003 and deliveries concluded in August 2004.
16 new MiG-29Ks have been ordered (12 single-seat and four two-seater MiG-29KUB) by India to equip the INS Vikramaditya (formerly the Admiral Gorshkov) carrier bought from the Russian Navy. The first production MiG-29K made its maiden flight in March 2008 and first two batch have been delivered. the squadron has been code named "Black Panther".
Russian Description
The two-seat supersonic MIG-31E fighter is a combat aircraft which has no analogues over the world. It is capable:
- To combat in group air fights at the distances which are inaccessible for any other fighter over the world.
- To realize the network-centric methods of controlling the combat operations in air when engaging within heterogeneous grouping of warfare means.
- To perform the long-range flights with speed of 3000 KM/h (M=2.83) at high altitudes.
MiG-35(NATO name Fulcrum F)Development of the MiG-29 Fulcrum with larger wings, canards, upgraded cockpit and thrust vectoring engines. The engines have been moved backwards to make more room for fuel in the fuselage. The MiG-35 is classified as a 4++ generation jet fighter and and now classed as a medium-weight aircraft because its maximum take-off weight increased by 30 percent.The fighter has vastly improved avionics and weapon systems, notably the new AESA radar and the uniquely designed Optical Locator System (OLS), relieves the aircraft from relying on ground-controlled interception (GCI) systems and enables it to conduct independent multi-role missions. A prototype made its first flight in February 1997, the final design was first presented uring the Aero India 2007 air show.
Responding to earlier criticism, the new design is also substantially more reliable than the previous variants. The airframe lifetime and its service life have been extended and it is fitted with new engines with longer mean time between overhauls, resulting in a decrease in flight-hour cost of almost 2.5 times compared to those of the old variants. The new engines are now smokeless and include a FADEC type electronic control system for better performance. All aspect vector nozzles which had been demonstrated on MiG-29OVT are optional. Other technological improvements introduced to enhance the aircraft's ability to conduct independent operations are for example an airborne oxygen generation plant a new multifunction self-protection jammer.
Powerplant : The RD-33MK "Morskaya Osa" ("Sea Wasp") was installed by the new modification. It is the latest version of the RD-33 and was intended to power the MiG-29K and MiG-29KUB. It has 7% more power compared to the baseline model due to the use of modern materials in the cooled blades, providing a higher thrust of 9,000 kgf. In response to earlier criticism, the new engines are smokeless and include systems that reduce infrared and optical visibility. The engines may be fitted with vectored-thrust nozzles, which would result an increase in combat efficiency by 12 to 15%. With the vectored thrust nozzles, the engines are designated RD-33OVT and will allow the Mig-35 to be the first twin-engine aircraft with vectoring nozzles that can move in all axes. Other existing thrust vectoring aircraft, like the Su-30MKI and the F-22, all feature two-dimensional vectoring nozzles.
Cockpit : Analog electronics are minimized, being replaced by 3 equal-size colour LCD multi-function displays (MFDs) and an additional display for the OLS (the MiG-35D rear cockpit has four LCDs).
Sensors : New modifications include the newly rolled-out Phazotron Zhuk-AE active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and an optronic complex consisting of the newly designed OLS to replace the previous IRST sensor, an additional OLS under the right air intake, and a pair of laser emission detectors on each wing tip. The Phazotron Zhuk-AE AESA radar offers a wider range of operating frequencies, providing more resistance to electronic countermeasures (ECM), more detection range, more air and ground targets detected, tracked and able to be engaged simultaneously. The radar is thought to have detection range of 160 km for air targets and 300 km for ships.
The OLS, a new development from space technologies, incorporates a helmet-mounted target designation system providing targeting solutions for both ground and air targets in the forward and aft hemispheres of the aircraft. The most vital difference from the previous IRST sensor is that the new device provides not only a better operation range but also offers manually switchable display options of IR view, TV mode or a mix of both that significantly improves man-machine coordination. The OLS on the nose serves as the IRST while the OLS under the right air intake serves as the ground strike designator.
In air combat, the optronic suite allows:
- Detection of non-after burning targets at 45 km range and more;
- Identification of those targets at 8 to 10 km range; and
- Estimates of aerial target range at up to 15 km.
For ground targets, the suite allows:
- A tank-effective detection range up to 15 km, and aircraft carrier detection at 60 to 80 km;
- Identification of the tank type on the 8 to 10 km range, and of an aircraft carrier at 40 to 60 km; and
- Estimates of ground target range of up to 20 km.
The defensive system equipment consists of radar reconnaissance, electronic countermeasures, and optical systems (notably the laser emission detector on each wingtip) which are able to detect and evaluate the approaching danger and operate decoy dispensers to counteract the approaching threat in the radar and infrared ranges.