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Aviation History
1984
1984 - 0091.PDF
DEFENCE Soviet re-equipment gains momentum WASHINGTON D.C. Presenting his 1985 budget request to Congress, US Defence Secretary Caspar Weinberger will cite quali tative improvements in Soviet weaponry which are claimed to threaten US technological superiority. In almost every field the Soviet Union is moving to match US equipment deployed over the last decade. New Soviet fighters, bombers, transport, and airborne early warning aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles are in vari ous stages of development or deployment. Spearheading this latest re- equipment are three new look- down/shoot-down fighters with track-while-scan radars and beyond-visual-range air- to-air missiles. US assessment of these aircraft is as follows: Foxhound Derived from the MiG-25 Foxbat, the two-seat MiG-31 Foxhound is the Soviet Union's first look- down/shoot-down intercep tor. With a maximum speed of Mach 2 • 4 and a service ceiling of 80,000ft, Foxhound is designed to intercept low- flying aircraft and cruise missiles using its long- range pulse-Doppler radar FLIGHT International, 21 January 1984 and active-radar AA-9 missiles. Armament includes four AA-9s and four short- range heat-seeking AA-8 Aphids. Deployment began in 1983, probably replacing the Tu-28P Fiddler interceptor. Fulcrum The Soviet equiv alent of the F-16, the single- seat, twin-engine MiG-29 Fulcrum is 15 • 5m long, with a 10 • 5m-span, 35m2 swept wing and a 16-5-tonne gross weight. Maximum speed is Mach 2-3 and combat radius 360 n.m., armed with four air- to-air missiles. Deployment is expected to begin early this year, possibly replacing the MiG-21 Fishbed. Flanker larger than Fulcrum, the single-seat, twin-engine Su-27 Flanker is the Soviet equivalent of the F- 15 Eagle, 20m long, with a 12-5m span, 46-5m2 swept wing, and a 29-tonne maximum take-off weight. Maximum speed is Mach 2 • 3 and combat radius 350 n.m., armed with eight air-to-air missiles. Flanker is expected to become operational this year, possibly as a replace ment for the Su-15 Flagon interceptor. Pentagon artist's impres sions show Fulcrum and Flanker to be remarkably similar in planform, reflecting Soviet design practice. Aero- dynamically, they appear to be modelled on the F-15, opti mised for air combat with low wing loadings and high thrust-to-weight ratios. The weight and complexity of variable geometry, charac teristic of all current- generation Soviet combat aircraft, is dispensed with. Instead Fulcrum and Flanker have large fixed-geometry wings with highly swept leading-edge root extensions. Both aircraft have twin verti cal fins. US assessment credits both aircraft with combat thrust- to-weight ratios of 1.2:1, simi lar to those of the F-15 and F-16. The Soviet Union has yet to produce a high- performance turbofan equiv alent to the US F100, so it seems likely that Fulcrum and Flanker are powered by turbojets. While the Tumansky R-25 turbojet of late-model MiG- 21s would provide Fulcrum with adequate power, the MiG-29 is a candidate for a new 9 • 5-tonne thrust-class turbojet. Flanker could be powered by two of the MiG- 23's Tumansky R-29 turbojets or new 13-5-tonne thrust The Soviet Union is deploying three new fighters. Foxhound is already in service. Fulcrum and Flanker will follow this year, the USA believes class engines. Both aircraft have pulse- Doppler radars. Track-while- scan capability is credited, and Flanker is thought to have backup infrared search and track. A new medium- range air-to-air missile with active-radar terminal homing is claimed to give both Fulcrum and Flanker beyond- visual-range engagement capability. The MiG-31 Foxhound's radar is probably equivalent to the F-14's AWG-9 weapon system, access to which was available through Iran. The radars in Fulcrum and Flanker are probably equiv alent in performance to the APG-63/APG-66 generation of US radars as fitted to the F-15A and F-16A. The current generation of Soviet combat aircraft, the MiG-23/27 Flogger, Su-24 Fencer, and Tu-22M Back fire, entered service in the early Seventies and now form the backbone of Soviet tacti cal air forces. These aircraft introduced improvements in 137
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