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Aviation History
1984
1984 - 0092.PDF
DEFENCE New Soviet aircraft include the Antonov An-400 Condor strategic airlifter, expected to enter service in 1986. The Blackjack strategic bomber is also expected to become operational in 1986. The Mainstay airborne early warning aircraft is expected to enter service by the end of this year payload/range performance and all-weather operability. There are currently almost 1,900 MiG-23/27 Floggers in service with Soviet air- defence and tactical air forces, along with almost 600 Su-24 Fencers. The cancellation in 1977 of the US B-l bomber and the decision to develop instead small nuclear-armed cruise missiles focused Soviet atten tion on its air defences. Since then a series of new surface- to-air missiles has been intro duced. Not surprising, there fore, is the deployment of a new home-defence interceptor to replace Fiddler. Improvements in the Soviet bomber force are also planned. Backfire is widely deployed as a tactical, medium-range conventional and nuclear bomber and maritime strike/attack air craft. A modified version with Foxbat-like raked intakes is under development and further improvements are expected. Some 230 Backfires are already in service. The Blackjack variable- geometry strategic bomber is expected to enter service in 1986. According to US esti mates, Blackjack is 53-5 long with a 54m unswept span and a 290-tonne maximum take off weight including 16 tonnes of armament. With a Mach 2 maximum speed and a 4,000 n.m. unrefuelled combat radius, Blackjack presents a significant threat to the US mainland, particularly when armed with cruise missiles. US reports suggest that an 138 AS-X-15 air-launched cruise missile, with a range in excess of 1,500 n.m., will be ready for service after 1985, to be carried by Blackjack or the smaller Backfire. There are also reports of a large super sonic cruise missile with a 2,000 n.m. range, called BL- 10, which could be carried by Backfire or Bear. An aircraft identified by the Soviet Union simply as "101" and powered by four 20-tonne thrust "Type 57" engines, which set four speed records in 1983, could be the super sonic cruise interceptor referred to in US Press reports and said to resemble a military Tu-144 supersonic transport. Soviet transport forces are also being overhauled. In addition to the An-72 Coaler twin-turbofan Stol transport developed to replace the turboprop An-26 Curl, and the four-turbofan 11-76 Candid introduced to replace the turboprop An-12 Cub, an extremely large strategic transport is under flight-test. Expected to enter service in 1986, and larger than the C-5 Galaxy, the 360-tonne An-400 Condor can, according to US estimates, carry a 120-tOnne payload over 2,500 n.m. Condor is powered by four high-bypass turbofans, reported to be Lotarev D-18Ts, scaled-up versions of the An-72's D-36 power- plant. Still to be confirmed is the existence of a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft simi lar to the U-2. BOOK REVIEW Soviets revealed Soviet aircraft production rates are legend, and several thousand MiGs have been produced. But the Soviet Union has also produced a bewildering range of aircraft types, few of them as success ful as the MiGs. Bill Gunston's Aircraft of the Soviet Union* is the most comprehensive guide yet published on this subject. Every known prototype and production aircraft is included, with three-view drawings, photographs, and data where available. The 416 pages feature almost 800 illustrations detailing more than 800 Soviet aircraft. Some are household names, but many are far less well known. Rightly or wrongly the Soviet Navy is the most feared fleet in the world, and Flight's pages have carried analyses of several new surface vessels in recent months. The third edition of Norman Polmar's Guide to the Soviet Navy** contains much of interest, not least to those who might one day have to face it. Throughout the book's profusely illustrated 453 pages, Polmar outlines the philosophy, training, and tactics of the four Soviet fleets. Data tables and descriptions for all classes of Soviet vessels are included. Separate chapters cover naval aircraft, weapons, missiles, and electronic systems. 'Aircraft of the Soviet Union by Bill Gunston, £30. Osprey Publishing. 12-14 Long Acre. London WC2E 9LP, ISBN 0-85045-445-X. "Guide to the Soviet Navy by Norman Polmar. $36.95, US Naval Institute Press. Annapolis. MD 21402. £27.95. Arms & Armour Press. London. ISBN 0-87021-239-7. Slava showing the stern-mounted variable-depth sonar FLIGHT International, 2 January 1984
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