(MiG-31)
Mikoyan Grevich, a name that thrived in the Cold War era, and also the name of the world's last active interceptor production company. The MiG-31 interceptor is currently the only dedicated interceptor still in service in the world, and because it inherits the high-altitude and high-speed characteristics of the MiG-25, the maximum flight speed of the MiG-31 still maintains the level of Mach 2.83. Under the circumstances, the air-to-air missiles that are tracked can even be thrown away. Now, MiG has once again made a strong attack, this time with the goal of "faster than missiles"!
(the MiG-41 image transmitted on the Internet)
The Global Times quoted the Belgian Air Force magazine "Air Force Identification" as saying that Russia is developing a new high-speed long-range interceptor bomber-MiG-41, which will be a compatible interception. It is a brand-new aircraft and bomber, and its flight speed is expected to exceed Mach 4, exceeding the level of most air-to-air missiles in active service. How did the interceptor come into being and develop? Why is Russia the only one in the world that still insists on developing brand new interceptors? All this has to start with World War II.
Sky Shield-the prototype of the interceptor
has appeared during World War II. At that time, the British Wesland "Hyunfeng" fighter, the German ME-110 long-range fighter, etc., can all be regarded as the prototype of the interceptor. Because the Luftwaffe bombed the United Kingdom during World War II, the United Kingdom was seriously lacking fighter jets that could fight at night and effectively intercept German bombers. For this reason, the British Westland Company designed a twin-engine at the request of the British Air Force. Heavy fighter, designed to intercept German bombers. The aircraft is specially used by the British Air Force for night operations, while the shorter-range Hurricane and Spitfire fighters are used for daytime air defense operations.
(ME-110 twin-engine heavy fighter designed specifically for interception operations, with the basic design features of today's interceptors)
Similar to the British, Germany also faced large-scale bombing by the British and American allies in the later stages of the war. At that time, the U.S. Army Air Force (the real U.S. Air Force was only established in 1947, when the U.S. had no independent air force) relied on a large number of equipment and advanced performance, and often carried out high-altitude precision bombing during the day. The British Air Force is not as "local tyrant" as the United States, so most of the British Air Force carries out night bombing. At night, affected by light, it is difficult to find the target with the naked eye. Therefore, Germany installed its ME-110 twin-engine long-range heavy fighter with radar as a special night fighter designed to intercept British night bomber formations, and achieved Very good record.
(The Su-9 designed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau looks very similar to the MiG-21 at first glance, but in fact the size of the aircraft is much larger than the MiG-21, which is the first-generation Soviet special interceptor)
in World War II After the end, the world entered a confrontation between the US and the Soviet Union. Since the United States enjoyed absolute advantages in the aviation industry and technology, since the 1950s, various advanced jet bombers of the United States began to serve in large numbers, and before the advent of intercontinental missiles , The combination of bomber + nuclear warhead is the invincible existence in the world. The Soviet Union was devastated by the war in World War II. Its industrial and technological level was originally inferior to Western Europe and the United States, and most of its only achievements were destroyed by the war. Therefore, in air defense, the Soviet Union was basically on the defensive during the entire Cold War. In addition, the Soviet Union has a vast territory, especially the vast Siberia region, which is even more sparsely populated. Because it has to defend such a large area of the country, the Soviet Union has a special demand for "interceptors". This is still the world today. Only Russia is still insisting on developing and installing heavy long-range interceptors in parallel.
Cold War myth-the "flying stainless steel" MiG-25
Because of the urgent need for homeland air defense, the Soviet MiG Design Bureau made every effort to develop the world's fastest interceptor at the time-the MiG-25 heavy interceptor This kind of advanced aircraft that surpassed the times once frightened the West, and even today, the MiG-25 is still a heavy interceptor that is extremely difficult to intercept.
(Legend of high altitude and high speed, MiG-25 interceptor)
In the 1960s, the United States began to develop a new XB-70 "Valkyrie" high-speed strategic bomber and SR-71 "Blackbird" high-altitude and high-speed reconnaissance aircraft. Both aircraft are based on the American X-The result of 15 high-speed technical verification aircraft, and its designed flight speed must exceed Mach 3. In order to effectively counter the new U.S. bombers and reconnaissance aircraft, the Soviet Union launched the development plan of the MiG-25. Compared with the United States at that time, the Soviet aviation industry technology was quite backward. The most typical example is that although the Soviet Union has the world’s largest reserves of titanium ore, its smelting and metal processing technology is not flattering. Although the Soviet Union successfully used titanium Alloy has built many nuclear-powered submarines, and they are far ahead of the West in terms of technical performance, but they cannot use titanium alloys to process the light and thin aircraft skins and skeletons, so that its MiG-25 has to use alloy steel. Make the skin and skeleton of the aircraft. According to statistics, the consumption of MiG-25 titanium alloy accounts for only 8% of the total weight of the aircraft, while the consumption of steel accounts for 80%! However, it should be clarified that the MiG-25 uses ordinary alloy steel, not the legendary "stainless steel", and that stainless steel is just a scornful term for the Soviet Union in the Western media.
(In order to ensure high-speed flight, even the height of the cockpit of the MiG-25 is reduced, so the pilot’s vision can be said to be very bad)
However, as an opponent of the MiG-25, the U.S. SR-71 black The titanium used by the bird was actually imported from the Soviet Union! It turns out that although the United States has a large area of land, titanium ore is very scarce. This also explains why the United States did not build a titanium alloy submarine during the Cold War. In order to obtain enough titanium to manufacture the SR-71 "Black Bird", the US government even used the CIA intelligence network to set up countless shell companies around the world. Through a series of complicated methods, the titanium ore was bought back from the Soviet Union. , Shipped to the United States for smelting and processing, so strictly speaking, the Soviet Union itself is really indispensable for the SR-71 to be mass-produced and put into service!
(U.S. SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft)
MiG-25 was developed to target the American SR-71 "Blackbird" at the time (the XB-70 was dismounted after an accident), in order to meet the needs of high-speed flight , The shape of the aircraft has been carefully designed. First, the MiG fighter's usual nose intake design is abandoned, and the air intake on both sides of the fuselage is replaced. The air intake adopts a square oblique cut that is conducive to supersonic flight. Breath. The aircraft adopts an aerodynamic layout of upper single wing, double engines and double vertical tails, and the wings are designed to be extremely flat and thin to minimize flight resistance.
(the tail nozzle of the R15BD-300 engine of the MiG-25PD fighter)
In terms of power, the MiG-25 is equipped with two Tumansky R-15-300 large turbojet engines with a maximum thrust of 86 kN , The afterburner thrust can reach 109 kilonewtons, and its huge thrust seems outdated today. Relying on a number of excellent designs, the MiG-25 fighter jet can reach a maximum flying speed of Mach 2.83.
(Actually, the MiG-25 has a variety of combat capabilities. In the above picture, the MiG-25 is mounted under the wing of the KH-58 anti-radiation missile)
. However, the West has not recognized the Soviet Union. Because in the Middle East War in 1971, the Soviet Union secretly sent 4 MiG-25R reconnaissance aircraft to Egypt to assist the Egyptian Air Force in reconnaissance of the Israeli army’s deployment in the Sinai Peninsula, and also to test the actual combat of the MiG-25. performance. According to the observation data from the Israeli ground radar station at that time, the speed of the MiG-25R reconnaissance plane over the Sinai Peninsula reached an astonishing Mach 3.2! In the operation of Israeli F-4E fighters intercepting MiG-25R, MiG-25R with its amazing high-speed performance even thrown off the Sidewinder air-to-air missile launched by Israeli aircraft!
continues to write the legend—Russian MiG-31
Because of the excellent performance of the MiG-25, especially after field observations in the Middle East battlefield in 1971, the MiG-25 once became a nightmare for the Western Air Force, so that many pilots talked about it. . However, in 1976, Soviet pilot Victor Belenko drove a MiG-25 fighter jet to land at Hakodate Airport in Hokkaido, Japan. After successfully defecting to the United States, the mystery of MiG-25 was completely revealed. -25 The deterrence of the Western Air Force disappeared. Due to the secret leakage of the aircraft, the Soviet Union had to restart the upgrade project and carry out a comprehensive upgrade of the MiG-25.The MiG-31 heavy interceptor is still the main force of Russian homeland air defense.
(Although the appearance is similar, the dimensions of MiG-31 and MiG-25 are completely different)
The appearance of MiG-31 is very similar to that of MiG-25. Both sides of the fuselage adopt air intake on both sides of the fuselage. Pneumatic layout with double vertical tails. However, the MiG-31 was upgraded to a two-seater interceptor. The pilot in the front seat was responsible for flying, and the pilot in the back seat was responsible for operating radar and weapon systems for interception operations. As the MiG-25’s avionics technology was completely exposed and leaked, the MiG-31 was replaced with a new passive phased array radar (PESA), so the MiG-31 is also the world’s first phased array radar to be installed. Combat aircraft.
(MiG 31BM)
After the above changes, the weight of the MiG-31 has increased compared with the MiG-25, and its weight has soared from 40 tons to 46 tons. For this reason, the engine was also replaced by Perm. The developed D-30F6 turbofan engine has increased the maximum thrust of afterburner to 152 kN! Relying on these two huge engines, the MiG-31 successfully maintained the maximum M2.83 flight speed of the MiG-25 interceptor, so it can still carry out high-altitude and high-speed interception, and even guest reconnaissance aircraft can perform high-speed penetration. After the US SR-71 was retired, the MiG-31 became the fastest combat aircraft in active service.
(fully armed MiG-31 interceptor)
relies on its excellent speed advantage. Although the MiG-31 does not have stealth performance, in actual use, it still often "plays with F-22". The Russian Far East Air Force deployed in the city of Petropavlovsk, Kamchatka Peninsula, is equipped with MiG-31 heavy interceptors. Due to its close proximity to Alaska, the unit dispatched MiG-31 interceptors more than once. The high-altitude and high-speed advantage is close to the Alaska air defense identification circle of the United States, and when the US F-22 flies close, they will take turns in battle. Since the flight speed of the F-22 fighter is not as fast as the MiG-31, the MiG-31 is basically a state of "can’t catch up or run away". Although the MiG-31 itself is not a stealth aircraft, it depends on The high-power radar system can still lock the F-22 fighter at a certain distance, and due to the speed advantage, once the MiG-31 is locked by the F-22, it can immediately turn around and leave, but the F-22 takes the MiG-31. There is no way.
(the MiG-31 interceptor carrying the "dagger" missile, which turned into a multi-role fighter)
In recent years, the MiG-31 full-time interceptor mission has also been given a new combat mission-carrying the Russian army." "Dagger" missile, a guest long-range bomber. After entering the new century, the Russian army began mass production of new "Iskander" tactical surface-to-surface missiles, which were appropriately modified and equipped on fighter jets for use as air-launched ground attack weapons. Due to the large size and weight of the missile, only the MiG-31 and Tu-22M3 can be carried in the Russian army. The MiG-31 can mount a "dagger" missile on the centerline of the belly without an external mount. However, with the flight altitude and speed of the MiG-31, the original range is within 480 kilometers. The Skander missile has an air-launched range of 2,000 kilometers, and its average flight speed has exceeded Mach 10. This became the world's first "hypersonic missile" actually installed.
As a result, the MiG-31 also began to develop from a dedicated interceptor into a multi-role fighter. When carrying the "Dagger" missile, it relied on the MiG-31's own range of 1,500 kilometers and the "Dagger" missile. A range of about 2,000 kilometers is theoretically sufficient to strike targets within 3,500 kilometers.
takes it to the next level-the legendary MiG-41
Although the MiG-31 has excellent performance and the "dagger" missile is even more expensive, after all, the MiG-31 is an upgraded model of the MiG-25. Not having the shortcoming of stealth design is its fatal flaw. Therefore, when the MiG-31 was installed, Russia had already invested in the development of a new high-speed interceptor. And the MiG-41 model was used for publicity very early, but for many years, it is true that the MiG-41 has not been seen so far.
(the earliest online guess picture about the MiG-41)
Although the new MiG-41 has not yet officially appeared, through the Russian military’s development parameters for the new aircraft, it is possible to roughly guess the basic parameters of the latest Russian interceptor. And combat mission planning. According to public information, the MiG-41 interceptor is expected to reach a flight speed above Mach 4. This speed is not only the mainstream active air-to-air missiles in the world today, but even many surface-to-air missiles cannot be pursued. This probably reflects the Russian thinking-my stealth technology is not good, then speed up the flight and let your missiles Can't catch up. Although it sounds weird, it does conform to Russia's consistent style of "simple and crude".
(single-shot MiG-41 guess)
Secondly, thanks to the experience of mounting the "dagger" missile on the MiG-31, the new MiG-41 interceptor is no longer based on a simple interceptor design, but The design concept of a multi-purpose fighter is adopted, and it is compatible with ground-to-sea strike missions under the circumstance of mainly intercepting operations. In fact, the earliest MiG-25 interceptor aircraft, due to its excellent performance, can still fly at a high speed of Mach 2.2 even when carrying 2 tons of bombs. Even now, very few aircraft can do this. Therefore, as a high-altitude high-speed interceptor, this design concept initially contained the performance parameters of a high-speed bomber. At present, when Russia is developing the new MiG-41, it has also installed the "Dagger" hypersonic air-to-surface missile, so combining the "Dagger" with the MiG-41 is almost an inevitable choice! In this way, relying on the MiG-41's range and flight speed, the "Dagger" missile will gain greater combat adaptability and constitute a greater deterrent to the West.
(MiG’s own plan)
According to the latest news from Russia, the new version of the MiG-41 heavy interceptor also has two important features: first, stealth; this is the current mainstream design trend of tactical fighters in various countries. Russia itself has finalized the Su-57 stealth fighter, so it is not too difficult for Russia to develop a stealth interceptor; second, unmanned; according to the Russian military, a new generation of MiG-41 The interceptor is most likely to adopt the design of a drone. Because its maximum flight speed is required to be between Mach 4 and Mach 4.3, when flying at such high speeds, the pilot needs to withstand a great flight overload. Therefore, even if the aircraft makes very small maneuvers, it can easily exceed the human body's anti-load limit. The use of unmanned design is an important development trend of the new generation of long-range interceptors.
(AIM-120D: I heard that someone wants to compare speed with me?)
Although Russia has been promoting the new MiG-41 interceptor for many years, it has not seen any progress, even the design has taken shape. There is no concept map. However, objectively, Russia still has a unique demand for high-speed heavy interceptors, especially its vast Siberian wasteland, which must be effectively guarded by advanced interceptors. Based on this rigid demand, it is believed that the MiG-41 will one day be presented to the world.
