https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan_MiG-31
The Mikoyan MiG-31 (Russian: ?????? ???-31; NATO reporting name: Foxhound) is a
supersonic interceptor aircraft developed for use by the Soviet Air Forces. The
aircraft was designed by the Mikoyan design bureau as a replacement for the
earlier MiG-25 "Foxbat"; the MiG-31 is based on and shares design elements with
the MiG-25. The MiG-31 has the distinction of being one of the fastest combat
jets in the world. It continues to be operated by the Russian Air Force and the
Kazakhstan Air Force following the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the
Soviet Union in 1991. The Russian Defence Ministry expects the MiG-31 to remain
in service until at least 2030.
The MiG-25 made substantial design sacrifices in order to achieve high speed,
altitude and rate of climb. It lacked maneuverability at interception speeds and
was difficult to fly at low altitudes. The MiG-25's speed was limited to Mach
2.83, but it could reach a maximum speed of Mach 3.2 or more with the risk of
engine damage.
Development of the MiG-25's replacement began with the Ye-155MP (Russian:
?-155??) prototype which first flew on 16 September 1975. Although it bore a
superficial resemblance to the MiG-25, it had a longer fuselage to accommodate
the radar operator's cockpit and was in many respects a new design. An important
development was the advanced radar, capable of both look-up and
look-down/shoot-down engagement, as well as multiple target tracking. This gave
the Soviet Union an interceptor with the capability to engage the most likely
Western intruders (low flying cruise missiles and bombers) at long range. The
MiG-31 replaced the Tu-128 interceptor.
Like its MiG-25 predecessor, the introduction of the MiG-31 was surrounded by
early speculation and misinformation concerning its design and abilities. The
West learned of the new interceptor from Lieutenant Viktor Belenko, a pilot who
defected to Japan in 1976 with his MiG-25P. Belenko described an upcoming "Super
Foxbat" with two seats and an ability to intercept cruise missiles. According to
his testimony, the new interceptor was to have air intakes similar to the
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23, which the MiG-31 does not have, at least in production
variants.
The MiG-31 was designed to fulfill the following mission objectives:
* Intercept cruise missiles and their launch aircraft by reaching missile launch
range in the lowest possible time after departing the loiter area;
* Detect and destroy low flying cruise missiles, UAVs and helicopters;
* Long range escort of strategic bombers;
* Provide strategic air defense in areas not covered by ground-based, air
defense systems.
MiG-31 production ended in 1994. The first production batch of 519 MiG-31s
including 349 "baseline models" was produced at the Sokol plant between 1976 and
1988. The second batch of 101 MiG-31DZs was produced from 1989 to 1991. The
final batch of 69 MiG-31B aircraft was produced between 1990 and 1994. From the
final batch 50 were retained by the Kazakhstan Air Force after the dissolution
of the Soviet Union. Of the "baseline models", 40 airframes were upgraded to
MiG-31BS standard.
Role
Interceptor aircraft, attack aircraft
National origin
Soviet Union
Manufacturer
Mikoyan-Gurevich/Mikoyan
First flight
16 September 1975
Introduction
6 May 1981
Status
In service
Primary users
Russian Aerospace Forces
Kazakhstan Air Force
Produced
Number built
519
Serial production of the MiG-31 began in 1979. The MiG-31 entered operational
service with the Soviet Air Defence Forces (PVO) in 1981. It was the world's
first aircraft with a phased array radar, and is one of only two aircraft in the
world capable of independently firing long-range air-to-air missiles as of 2013.
(The other is the Iranian Air Force F-14 Tomcat which uses a domestic version of
the long-range AIM-54 Phoenix called the Fakour-90.) The MiG-31BM has a
detection range of 282 km for a target with a radar cross-section of 5 square
meters.
With the designation Ye-266, a re-engined Ye-155 set new world records. It
reached an absolute maximum altitude of 37,650 metres (123,520 feet) in 1977,
and set a time to height record of 35,000 metres (115,000 feet) in 4 minutes,
11.78 seconds, both of which were set by the famous MiG test pilot Alexander
Fedotov. Pyotr Ostapenko, his deputy, set a time to height record to 30,000 m
(98,000 ft) in 3 minutes and 9.8 seconds in 1975.
Specifications (MiG-31)
General characteristics
Crew: 2 (pilot and weapons systems officer)
Length: 22.62 m (74 ft 3 in)
Wingspan: 13.456 m (44 ft 2 in)
Height: 6.456 m (21 ft 2 in)
Empty weight: 21,820 kg (48,100 lb)
Loaded weight: 41,000 kg (90,400 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 46,200 kg (101,900 lb)
lbf) each
Thrust with afterburner: 152 kN (34,172 lbf) each
Performance
Maximum speed: **At high altitude (level flight at 21,500 m): Mach 2.83 (3,000
km/h, 1,860 mph) At low altitude: Mach 1.21 (1,500 km/h, 932 mph)
Cruise speed: Mach 2.35 (2,500 km/h, 1,550 mph)
Range: 3,000 km (1,860 mi, 1,620 nmi) with 4 x R-33E and 2 drop tanks; 5,400 km
(3,360 mi; 2,920 nmi) with 4 x R-33E and 2 drop tanks with one aerial refueling
Combat radius: 1,450 km (900 mi, 780 nmi) at Mach 0.8 and at an altitude of
10,000 m (33,000 ft); 720 km (450 mi; 390 nmi) at Mach 2.35 and at an altitude
of 18,000 m (59,000 ft)
Service ceiling: 25,000+ m (82,000+ ft )
Rate of climb: 208 m/s (41,000 ft/min)
Thrust/weight: 0.85
Maximum g-load: 5 g
Armament
removed)
Avionics
Phazotron Zaslon passive electronically scanned array radar
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