Sorry no pics:
Aviation Week & Space Technology
March 26, 1979
Soviets to Field 3 New Fighters in Aviation Modernization Drive
BYLINE: By Clarence A. Robinson, Jr.
SECTION: AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING; Pg. 14
LENGTH: 1777 words
DATELINE: Washington
Soviet Union is preparing to field three new fighter aircraft as it continues its drive to modernize offensive aviation and air defense forces with 5,800 new aircraft by 1983.
The three new aircraft are:
* Model K -- A variable-geometry-wing air superiority fighter with an interceptor mission. The USSR is flying a prototype of this aircraft from Ramenskoye, and it is a close approximation of the U.S. Navy/Grumman F-14 fighter. Believed to be a follow-on to the MiG-25 Foxbat, the Model K is expected to be equipped with the look-down, shoot-down radar system now being tested against target drones at Vladimirovka (AW&ST Oct. 23, 1978, p. 13).
* Model L -- A Sukhoi fighter analagous to the Navy/McDonnell Douglas/Northrop F-18. A single-place, twin turbojet fighter with a takeoff gross weight of 25,000 lb., the aircraft is expected by U.S. officials to operate with air-to-air missiles in the radar-guided AIM-7F Sparrow category, or with improved performance along the lines of the advanced medium range air-to-air missile (AMRAAM) now in early development in the U.S. The radar in the Soviet L fighter is believed to be in the 40-naut. mi.-range category.
* Model J -- A small ground attack aircraft designed for close air support with an antitank gun system. This Russian strike fighter, also known in some circles as the T-58, is further along in the development cycle than Models K or L and is already in production, with deployment imminent. The Soviets have been testing the aircraft with both 23-mm. and 30-mm. gun systems for use against armored targets and appear to have settled on the 30-mm. system. The new attack aircraft is similar in design to the Northrop A-9, the competitor that lost to the Fairchild A-10 in USAF's close-support aircraft program.
The Soviets are making enormous strides in technology, according to U.S. analysts, and the trend now is toward complex weapon systems and more expensive fighter aircraft. While there is still a lag in on-board computational and data processing capabilities, that gap is closing rapidly, U.S. officials believe. They cite recent developments in a number of systems that include:
* Terrain-avoidance radar.
* Doppler navigation equipment.
* Gatling-type guns mounted in pods.
* Side-looking airborne radar (SLAR).
* Real-time electro-optical (television) surveillance for reconnaissance.
* Laser-guided weapons.
* New families of air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles and bombs designed to crater and destroy airfield runways.
Of all the aircraft systems and weapons, the look-down, shoot-down radar system still being tested against the Soviet UR-1 target drone, a 5-meter-square Mach 2-3 drone, embodies the surge in new Soviet technology, according to U.S. officials.
That radar system is being tested in the two-place Super MiG-25 using the new AA-X-9 radar-guided missile. The system, U.S. officials believe, is being produced for use with the new Model K interceptor. All three of the new aircraft are referred to as the Ram J, K or L because of their initial location at Ramenskoye.
The U.S. first learned of the radar's existence from the Soviet defector, Lt. Viktor Belenko, when he flew his MiG-25 into Japan in 1976 (AW&ST Sept. 27, 1976, p. 11). Tests with the system in a series of live firings have been monitored by the U.S. since August, 1977. The radar system has the capability to track four targets simultaneously while handling 20 targets, identifying them in ground clutter.
During evaluation and development testing, the Soviets have fired the missile against four drones within 40 sec. All of the targets were operating at different altitudes. Ranges up to 25 naut. mi. to the targets have been observed, but analysts believe the range capability to be about 40 naut. mi.
The Soviets are known to be developing a new fire control system for the Ram K, and possibly for use with the Ram L, that will handle a new, larger, longer-range interceptor missile.
"The Russians appear to have settled on complexity in their aircraft development program, and they are moving away from daylight fighters. It appears they have made a conscious decision to produce aircraft for the inventory with a better capability than the USAF [General Dynamics] F-16," one Pentagon official said. All of the new fighter designs have significant growth potential, according to another observer of Soviet aviation.
As an example, the prototype Ram K is a 60,000-lb. takeoff gross weight aircraft. The fuselage is 20 meters long, and it has a wing span of 12.5 meters. While the aircraft is now being tested with variable-sweep wings, U.S. officials believe it will be produced eventually with wings in a fixed position, and that a second cockpit will be added for a weapons system officer.
The F-14-like aircraft would operate by cruising a high altitude and engage targets in the look-down, shoot-down mode, or dive to lower altitudes for aerial combat engagements. "But it looks to us as though the Russians intend to take advantage of our experience in the Aimval/Aceval [air intercept missile evaluation/air combat evaluation] and engage targets in long-range standoff modes with radar-guided weapons," one official explained (AW&ST Apr. 4, 1977, p. 12).
The Ram L, according to analysts, is an aircraft that could utilize the AA-X-9 missile with its active terminal seeker or a new, smaller, lighter weight air-to-air missile now in early development. "As close as we can figure, it has the performance of the F-18," one official said.
The Ram L is 15.5 meters long, has a 10.5-meter wing span and a single-place bubble canopy. It is powered by twin turbojet engines.
The Ram J attack aircraft has an empty weight of approximately 20,000 lb. and a gross weight of about 36,000 lb. It has radar warning systems and is equipped with laser-guided weapons and the new AS-9 antiradar missile that homes on air defense radar emissions.
Not only have the Soviets moved into a new era with the technology in the three new aircraft, but they are continuing also to improve aircraft already in frontal aviation units with a number of technology advances.
The U.S. estimates that by 1983 almost 6,000 fighters will be built, with about 25% earmarked for export to Warsaw Pact nations. Annual production rates are about 1,100 for USSR fighters as compared to approximately 600 annually for the U.S., but close to half of the U.S. fighter production goes for export sales.
The MiG-23 Flogger aircraft is only one example of both the quantity and the new quality in Russian production, according to U.S. officials.
The MiG-23B interceptor variant of the Flogger is replacing older MiG-21 Fishbeds. It operates with a data link system and the newer AA-7 Apex and AA-8 Aphid air-to-air missiles, and with multiple ejection racks for ordnance.
U.S. officials emphasized that an important consideration in assessing future Soviet fighter production is the USSR's emphasis on dual-mission aircraft with ground attack capabilities beyond the primary counter-air mission.
The MiG-27 Flogger D is an aircraft with a 750-naut.-mi. radius, and it operates with a gross takeoff weight of about 45,000 lb., including fuel tanks. It carries a six-barrel 30 mm. Gatling-type podded gun system. The MiG-27's maximum speed is Mach 1.7 with its single Tumansky R-29B turbofan engine. The aircraft is deployed in Cuba and has a low-level nuclear weapons penetration capability.
The Flogger D has a pulse Doppler radar system that operates in J-band, according to U.S. officials, and the aircraft uses AS-7 and AS-9 air-to-surface missiles. The Soviets have produced laser-guided missiles for the aircraft and are developing fuel-air explosives for use with the MiG-27 or the Ram J.
During the past two years, the Soviets have been upgrading frontal aviation units in the central region in East Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia, converting them to newer aircraft. The Russians also are improving southern flank forces by deploying Floggers to Soviet units in Hungary, to Bulgarian national forces and to Czech and East German forces.
Construction of reinforced concrete hangarettes continues with about 1,800 in East Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia. Underground fuel depots are located in the hangarette areas.
Warsaw Pact tactical fighter/bombers based from the Baltic to the Turkish border number about 5,500, or about 75 U.S. wing-size units, formed in aviation regiments with about 50 aircraft per unit. This includes fighters in all non-Soviet Warsaw Pact countries as well as those in the Baltic, Byelorusian, Carpathian, Leningrad, Odessa and Transcaucasus military districts.
The force structure still relies heavily on late series MiG-21 Fishbed aircraft, with modifications to enhance its performance. One of the newer versions is the Fishbed N, with engine and avionics improvements to enhance its air defense role in frontal aviation units. Flogger fighters, however, are destined to be the backbone for Soviet tactical aviation, and conversion to this aircraft in recent years has been significant, averaging one regiment every 2 1/2 months, according to Western observers.
While Soviet forces in the central region of the Warsaw Pact have been virtually modernized, U.S. officials expect that six air defense [counterair] and 10 ground-attack regiments will be reequipped with the Ram L fighter and Ram J attack aircraft, respectively.
Additional Tupolev Backfire aircraft, referred to as the Tu-26/30 by NATO forces but not by the U.S., will be available to support tactical aviation operations, improving deep strike and payload capabilities.
Like the trend in the MiG-27, the Ram J ground-attack aircraft is aimed at simplicity, ruggedness and payload increases. The use of multiple ejector racks increases payloads for both the Flogger D and the Fencer. Flogger Ds can carry up to 18 550-lb. bombs, while the Fencer doubles its payload and approaches the capability of the Tu-16 Badger bomber.
Soviet aircraft production is unmatched in modern times, and the quality and complexity of high technology systems now emerging are cause for alarm, one U.S. official said. It provides:
* Double the number of aircraft capable of performing long-range deep interdiction offensive strikes to 550 naut. mi., high-low-high mission profiles.
* Greatly multiplied payload capability and delivery potential for offensive air assets.
* Long-range air intercepts using radar-guided weapons to provide standoff target kills while avoiding aerial combat with short-range missiles.
So, if anyone here could give me a hand it'd be appreciated. Also, there was a similar issue from late '83 or early '84 with sort of an update, but it included info on the MiG-31 & Tu-160. I'm surprised AW&ST doesn't have a set-up similar to Flight Int. or back issues on CD. Thanks for the read & any help.
