jfb@ihlpm.att.com (Joseph F Baugher) (06/22/91)
From: jfb@ihlpm.att.com (Joseph F Baugher)
This week's AvLeak has an article about the MiG-31 Foxhound interceptor which
put in an appearance at the Paris Air Show. I thought that you all might be
interested in this summary of the capabilities of this important Soviet
warplane. Enjoy!
Mikoyan MiG-31 Foxhound
Powerplant:
Two Solovyov D-30F-6 medium-bypass turbojets, 30,865 lb. st.
with afterburning.
Performance:
Maximum Speed: Mach 2.8 (1850 mph) at 36,000 ft.
Maximum Speed: Mach 1.2 (920 mph) at sea level.
Maximum combat radius: 1180 miles (4 Amos, 2 Aphid AAMs)
Maximum range: 2485 miles.
Service ceiling: 60,000 feet.
Maximum ceiling: 80,000 feet.
Wing Area: 602.8 sq. ft.
Instantaneous turn capability: 16-18 degrees/sec.
Sustained turn capability: 8-10 degrees/sec.
Takeoff run: 3900 feet (at 90,000 lbs)
Takeoff run: 4900 feet (at 102,100 lbs)
Maximum flight endurance: 3.6 hours
Weights:
Empty Weight: 48,000 lb.
Normal loaded: 65,000-70,000 lb.
Max. takeoff weight: 102,100 lb.
Armament:
One 23-mm cannon mounted in fairing on right side of aircraft
near the landing gear.
The primary armamemt is the AA-9 Amos semi-active radar-homing
long range air-to-air missile.
In most photographs, the Foxhound has been seen carrying four
Amos missiles under the fuselage, with other types of (shorter-
range) missles (e. g. Apex, Alamo, or Aphid) being carried on
the underwing pylons.
The fuselage centerline stations appear to be optimized for the
Amos, and no other missile types have ever been seen being
carried there.
Fuel tanks can be carried on the two wing pylons and on the
centerline pylon.
Electronics:
"Flash Dance" look-down/shoot-down pulsed-Doppler radar
system with multiple targeting capability. Range is 186 mi.
An infrared search and track sensor is stowed in a semi-
buried position under the nose. It is hinged on one side
and rotates downward into position.
Remarks:
Developed from the mid-1970s and first deployed by Voyska PVO
from mid-1983.
Superficially based on MiG-25 Foxbat, but is actually largely
new.
Unlike previous Soviet interceptors, MiG-31 is designed to work
as an autonomous system outside the constraints of a ground-
controlled intercept system. The basic plan was to relax
somewhat the rigid centralized control philosophy that guided
previous Soviet air defense fighter designs.
Can operate surveillance missions either solo or in formation
with up to 4 aircraft inc communication via automatic datalink.
Such a four-aircraft formation is said to be capable of
tracking 10 targets simultaneously and is able to fire missiles
against four targets at one time.
Crew of two (pilot and weapons officer) seated in tandem.
Both crew members sit on KM-1 ejection seats.
Large intakes have auxiliary bypass doors mounted on the top
side to accommodate airflow at high speeds. For low speed
and taxi, the lower lip is hinged to increase the airflow.
Front cockpit instrumentation is largely analog and
conventional. Rear cockpit displays are primarily via radar
scope and related video display terminals.
Compared to Western interceptors, the view from the cockpit
must be downright lousy. The pilot's view to the rear is
virtually nonexistent, and his view to the sides must be
severely restricted by the upper intake lips. The weapons
officer's view is even more restricted. His canopy has only a
tiny window cut in each side. However, the MiG-31, like its
MiG-25 predecessor, was not designed for the air superiority
fighter role.
All-moving slab-type horizontal tail surfaces and conventional
vertical fins.
Construction materials appear to be the same nickel steel
alloy used on MiG-25, although titanium leading edge materials
appear to have been deleted. The deletion of titanium
is a result of a lower top-end performance requirement vis-a-vis
the MiG-25.
The landing gear is rather unconventional. The main gear each
have two wheels with separate staggered axles and strut
assemblies. The main gear retracts slightly forward and up
into wells in the fuselage. The nose gear retracts aft.
The main gear appears to be optimized for rough field handling,
but it may have also been constrained by the limitations
imposed by the wheel wells in the lower fuselage.
AA-9 Amos is comparable to the Hughes AIM-54 Phoenix missile
carried by the F-14 Tomcat. The weight is 1280 pounds, and
the maximum speed is of the order of Mach 3.5. The range is
uncertain, but probably exceeds 80 miles. Intelligence
reports have indicated that the Amos has performed well in
look-down/shoot-down tests in the Soviet Union.
No foreign sales of the MiG-31 have yet been reported.
Sources:
Various issues of Aviation Week
The Observer's Book of Aircraft, William Green.
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft Armament, Bill Gunston
MiG: A History of the Design Bureau and its Aircraft, P. Butowski
and J. Miller
Joe Baugher
AT&T Bell Laboratories 200 Park Plaza Naperville, Illinois 60566-7050
(708) 713 4548 ihlpm!jfb jfb200@cbnewsd.att.com acton@cs.ubc.ca (Donald Acton) (06/27/91)
From: acton@cs.ubc.ca (Donald Acton) In article <1991Jun22.040912.1269@cbnews.cb.att.com> jfb@ihlpm.att.com (Joseph F Baugher) writes: } } }From: jfb@ihlpm.att.com (Joseph F Baugher) } }This week's AvLeak has an article about the MiG-31 Foxhound interceptor which }put in an appearance at the Paris Air Show. I thought that some of the readers of this newsgroup might be interested to know that on Monday the organizer's of the Abbotsford International Airshow announced that the Soviet Union will be sending the MIG-31 to the airshow. This will be its first appearance in North America. The Soviet Union will also be sending the AN-225, billed as the world's largest aircraft, along with several other fighters and helicopters. Donald Acton acton@cs.ubc.ca
gordonh@milton.u.washington.edu (Gordon Hayes) (06/29/91)
From: gordonh@milton.u.washington.edu (Gordon Hayes) acton@cs.ubc.ca (Donald Acton) writes: >I thought that some of the readers of this newsgroup might be >interested to know that on Monday the organizer's of the Abbotsford >International Airshow announced that the Soviet Union will be sending >the MIG-31 to the airshow. I saw this on CNN and there was an American Jet fighter pilot standing in front of the MIG-31. He looked at it then at the camera and said, "weelll, I really wouldn't worry too much about running into it in a confrontational situation." This was his approxamate words. Seems they don't even use flush bolts on the skin. Kind of like old technology rehashed. The pilot was totally unimpressed with it. And I just watched FIREFOX the other day too. Strange, the MIG-31 in the movie was sooo different.... -- Gordon Hayes, MCIS, University of Washington gordonh@milton.u.washington.edu Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore"