MiG 25P TO MiG 31A, FROM SHADOW TO DARKNESS – Chapter 3

Chapter 1 – The Soviet Planning To Defeat The SR 71 Program :https://sites.google.com/site/sr71xm…oviet-planning
Key Publishing Forum: http://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?t=115044

Chapter 2 – MiG 25 RB X YF 14 Tomcat II Over Sinai in 1973 :https://sites.google.com/site/sr71xm…over-the-sinai
Key Publishing Forum: http://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?t=115178

Chapter 3 – MiG 25P to MiG 31A , From SHADOW to DARKNESS :https://sites.google.com/site/sr71xm…ow-to-darkness
Key Publishing Forum: http://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?t=115390

Chapter 4 – SR 71 Blackbird, The Legacy of Murphy’s Law : https://sites.google.com/site/sr71xm…phy-law-legacy
Key Publishing Forum: http://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?t=119286

Chapter 5 – MiG 31 Foxhound Vs. SR 71 Blackbird , 007 At Service of the Soviet Union: NEXT
Key Publishing Forum : NEXT

The difference performances has been found out among MiG 25E ( PD) and MiG 31 A, in despite of the small interval of time of the production between both. As demonstrated that it were different projects, being in last analysis that MiG 31 could be considered at least with the double of the capability of MiG 25PD . In general terms for each MiG 31 A operational would be equivalent in performance to two MiG 25 E(PD) in what has refered the capability to intercept SR 71.

USSR INTERCEPTORS CHART IN RELATIVE NUMBERS( WEIGHT CAPABILITY) ACROSS THE YEARS

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IMG]De MiG 31B/BS[/IMG]

However when has been looking at the conflicts in which interceptor MiG 25P and recognition/attack MiG 25RB were engaged, the opponents sought by all the ways to prove that their vectors (F 15 Eagle, F 14 Tomcat, F 16 Falcon and F / A 18 Hornet) were able to shooting down the MiG 25, although in many cases there were no confirmation that had occurred. If the adversaries recognize the importance in overcoming a MiG 25 to prove the capabilities of its most advanced fighters should be proof that the MiG 25 fighter aircraft were extremely threatening in the analysis of his opponents, and even to consider that in these cases the aircraft were involved in the export versions of the MiG 25.Countries that had in their arsenals vector as advanced as those had been mentioned (F 15 Eagle, F 14 Tomcat, F 16 Falcon and F / A 18 Hornet) would not be easy to be impressed by such a supposedly obsolete and little capable fighter.

Just to prove how the MiG 25 was impressive in its time would be important remember the facts that the designs of the F 15A Eagle and F 14A Tomcat were at the very large scale influenced by the existence of the MiG 25.At the time, U.S. intelligence had believed that the new supersonic bomber Tu 22M Backfire with missile supersonic long-range AS 22 Kitchen could be escorted by MiG 25P, and how in order to avoid this threat developed the F 14A Tomcat II with AIM 54A Phoenix missiles to protect the U.S. Navy fleet. As demonstrated later in 1976 this combination was not possible due to the small range of the MiG 25P and the lack of capability to receive fuel in fly by aircraft tanker to escort the Tu 22M2 Backfire in long-range missions.

However in the present, even with the reduction in the number of vectors available today, the Russian Navy has the Tu22M3 Backfire with supersonic missiles AS 22 Kitchen and the MiG 31B/Bs Foxhound with its missiles R 33 Amos, probable one regiment of MiG 31 were transferred from Russian Air Force direct to Russian Navy. The MiG 31B / BS is capable to receive fuel from aircraft tanker or by Su 33 Flanker( based in aircraft) in fly to escort the supersonic bombers in long-range missions, while the U.S. Navy has dismantled all of its F14 A / B / C / D Tomcat with AIM 54 Phoenix missiles. The highly sophisticated F / A 18 E / F Hornet II with the AIM 120D missiles has replaced the F 14 / AIM 54 even not having the same capability in long range interception mission of the F 14 Tomcat / AIM 54. The good news for the U.S. Navy is that the U.S. and Russian has excellent diplomatic relations, because the Tu 22M3 could launched the AS 22 Kitchen or the new version AS 32 with more range against the fleet even out the cover by missiles range AIM 120D from some survivor F/A 18E/F Hornet II that were not hit by R 33 fired by MiG 31 B/BS, or worst hit by R 37 that is more capabilities than R 33 because the R 37 is capable to engage targets maneuvering at 10G force as i.e, the highly advanced F/A 22A Raptor, the R 37 could be fired by MiG 31 BM ( modernized version from MiG 31B/BS) much more far way from the F/A 18 / AIM 120D.

USSR INTERCEPTORS CHART IN ABSOLUT NUMBERS ACROSS THE YEARS

For some analysts the MiG 31 / R 33 (and on MiG 31BM / R 37?) could be described as obsolete and for this reason the equipment of electronic jamming of F/A 18 E/F could be disable these missiles allowing then that F/A 18 to fire the AIM 120D and than destroy all the MiG 31 / R33 as well as the far way Tu 22M3 Backfire. The same could be probably said for the pilot that died in combat in 1991 aboard of F/A 18C Hornet armed with AIM 7M Sparrow missiles , that fighter was shoot down by an AA 6 Acrid had fired from MiG 25 PDS of the Iraq.

The F/A 18 E/F is a very sophisticated fighter and highly capable, as well as it were in 1991 the F/A 18C in first Gulf War, but the lack capability to intercept objectives in long range as it were the main mission of F 14 Tomcat II it is still very difficult to understand. This observation is due to the fact that it is very common to make a mistake between technological progresses with capability; the fact that something is more advanced technologically it doesn’t mean that this has all the capabilities of something that it should replaced as i.e due to the end of its useful life.

Just to illustrate what it was mentioned above without entering in another issue, the MiG 31 with the missiles R 33 Amos will be replaced by PAK FA with some future version of the missiles R 37, indeed these missiles could be carried inside of the compartment in the belly of this fighter, and the Tu 22M3 Backfire will probably be replaced by Su 34 FullBack, and the missiles AS 22 Kitchen will be replaced by Alpha missiles. In despite of there being a lot differences between the current aircraft and its probable substitutes, the missions won’t be reduced, indeed will be expanded. While MiG 31 and the Tu22M3 were out of the list of export from Soviet Union and to of Russia after the collapse from Soviet Union, the new PAK FA and Su 34 it will be placed in the top of the list of export from Russian today, and being like this the probability of F/A 18 E/F among many other figthers to have to combat this combination of menaces it can still be more than it has been the menace of MiG 31 / Tu 22M3.

To analysis such different fighters in its purpose or mission (MiG 31, MiG 25 and Su 27) it is already something extremely complex, however to analyze the interaction of those fighters in an integrated defense system it seems to be something impossible, at least by me, once being analyzed without access to all the information.

However some simple analyzes it could be obtained: the system of fire control from MiG 25PD with the missiles AA 6 Acrid and its radar, that had operated in the I / J band were described in differents informations sources. The most interesting of this system based in information avalible, is a fact the radar had operated in two independent bands. The whritter and journalist Tom Cooper, when interviewing the pilot of MiG 25 P responsible for the interception of the F/A 18C Hornet II in the first Gulf War, perhaps has illuminated the reason as one advanced F/A 18C, protected by owner radar jamming system and had been attivated its system in this ocasion, it ended being intercepted by this MiG 25.

The Iraquian pilot had commented in this interview for the whritter and journalist Tom Cooper that the radar of MiG 25P operated in two independent bands, and one it the main mode and the other in secondary mode had only the range mode . When the main band suffered interference, the secondary band it would be activated, then it could be obtained the range and speed and the opponent’s, with this informations the fire control computer of the MiG 25P would be calculated the position of the adversary as F/A 18C in that ocasion. Once the position was estimated , the fire control computer allowed the fire of the missiles AA 6 Acrid guided for radar or infrared. If a MiG 25PD had been destined for export purpose had this resource, with certainty MiG 25P of the Soviet Union had the same and something the more complex and sofisticated.

This different point of view could be has several explanations, however one of those explanations would be that MiG 31 had received more advanced systems and for that reason should be the high cost, so much of production and operation, while the systems of MiG 29A and Su 27A were simplified with the objective that should be to decrease the cost and also to maintain the technological secrets of the radar out Zaslon N007 of MiG 31 out of the reaching of the western intelligence.

However one possible reason for the radar Zaslon N007 to be several times more advanced than the radars of the N001 and N019 from Su 27A and MiG 29A would be the fact that the N007 Zaslon could be operate in different bands of radar, unlike other radars of the Su 27 and Mig 29 that are known to operate in the X band .

The Radar AWG 9 from F 14A Tomcat that would be equivalent to Zaslon N007 of the MiG 31, but the AWG 9 were originally developed to equip the F 111B that would replace the F 4E Phantom II in both the USAF, U.S. Navy and US Marine Corp. But it turned canceled, resulting that both forces had developed specific fighters respectively as the F 15 Eagle and F 14A Tomcat.

The radar AWG 9 were tested in the F 111B around 1969, resulting in almost ten years before the N007 Zaslon beginning to be tested aboard the MiG 31. Despite the technological gap between USA and USSR in the electronics area was considerable, should be consider the Zaslon N007 was the first radar had been destined for a fighter equipped with passive electronic scanning antenna, which by this fact put him in a technological level above the AWG 9.

An interesting point of the statements from the Iranians to the journalist Tom Cooper in this book about the F 14 A with the Iranian Air Force is that its were equipped with a system classified as secret by the Americans called APG / X 81, which no emit any electromagnetic signals, operated in passive mode, could get the data speed, altitude and direction from fighters of the Soviet and French project through the IFF system of the latter 70’s at a distance greater than 200 km ( 111 NMI), far beyond the range of the AWG 9 should detect small targets such as single-engine fighters.

In the book The Third War World III  from General Sir John Hackett is about the hipoctical war in August of the 1985 between the NATO against the Warsaw Pact, first time edited in 1978, and in which the author had related that most significant impact during the battles of this hipotectical war should be in the electronic field ( computers, communications, datalink e.g.), once that the military operators would be discovery uses from electronic equipments that even the desingners of this equipments had anticipated as possibility before the war beginning.

All this comment about those radar systems is aimed at demonstrating that expensive and complex systems, which in many cases have been vetted for export, should be not only because of the technology reasons, but also because its system would be reveal the techniques and doctrines of operation of those who developed it equipments.

To coordinate multiple interceptors through of the datalink would allow the MiG 31 to obtain all necessary data (speed, position, direction) through what is called a triangulation of the emission eletromagnetic source of an opponents aircraft that could be using the radar or electronic interference to evade of those figther that would be defenders the air space. Due to the fact that the opponent could be emitting electromagnetic radiation at various radar bands , due the wider mix of the radar systems at the disposal then the Soviet air defense system, and doing this in several different directions, since any such emissions of radars could be used by some kind of air defense to obtain the position of the intruder.

In the case of SR 71 that could keep out of reach of most defense systems operate by Soviet Union, but in case of the MiG 31 really have a radar capable of operating in several bands, the system RWR from SR 71 could classify the emission from MiG 31 radar as system supposedly beloging from: MiG 25, Su 27, MiG 29, MiG 23, Su 15 and Tu 128. Without the correct identification from the menace, the SR 71 could not stay out of the range achieved by AA 9 Amos had been released by the MiG 31. Even the SR 71 would be jamming all radar bands, this could be allowing its location by MiG 31 once its coordinating another figthers( MiG 25 , Su 27 ,MiG 23 e.g.) in the area through datalink, and to obtain all necessary datas for AA 9 Amos or even AA 6 Acrid that could be launched by MiG 25 and controlled by MiG 31.

In a superficial review over the AA 6 Acrid capabilities would be possible to observe a detail uncommon about missile air – air, that is the fact that this missile has lateral outlets for your rocket engine sustaining. This detail is common desing in some air-ground missiles like the Soviet Union: AS 7 , AS 10 and AS 14. Which has also antennas to receive or transmit signals to the launching aircraft. Another fact that AA 6 Acrid differs from other air-air missiles guided by radar reflection was the description of its use in the shutdown of the F / A 18C Hornet during the first Gulf War, in which the fire control system of the MiG 25 even under jamming from F/A 18C was capable to fire the missile after getting data from the target through the use of a secondary mode range operating other radar band, without the ability to illumination, but even under the radar had been jamming the missile seeker head was capable to lock on the target, as described in an interview for the journalist and whritter Tom Cooper by the iraq pilot of the MiG 25PDS.

This mode is described for use of the anti radar missile that has need this information to catch the enemy radar emissions. So it is very likely that the AA 6 Acrid is a missile that was intended to reach the aircraft also had been equipped with powerful electronic jamming systems, such as: B 52 , B 58 , Vulcans , A 5 Vigilant, FB 111, Mirage IV and also the future B 1A or B 1B and Tornardo IDV. Therefore the AA 6 had antennas directed backwards in order to be guided to the target air missiles like the air- surfacel anti radiation missile, since unlike radar located on the ground, those air targets would be flying at high speeds which would require corrections of trajectory from the launching aircraft until seeker head was able to lock down over the target, either by the reflection of radar waves emitted by the launching aircraft, by directing through the system of the electronic jamming or even by IR emission from the target.

REFERENCES

ASAS – ASAS Magazine – http://www.revistasas.com.br

APA – Australian Power Analyzes Website – http://www.ausairpower.net

AIRFORCES – Air Forces Monthly Magazine – http://www.airforcesmonthly.com

GORDON, Yelfin. MiG 25 and MiG 31: Defensive Front Line. Leicester – UK: Midland Prublishing Limeted, 1997.

HACKETT, General Sir John, BARRACLOUGH, Brigadier Sir Jonh, BURROW, Sir Bernard, HUNT, Brigadier Keneneth, McGEOCH, Vice-Admiral Sir Ian, MACRAE, Norman, STRAWSON, Major-General John. THE THIRD WORD WAR – AUGUST 1985. New York – USA: Macmillan Publishing, 1978.

BOLLARDIÈRE, Jacques Paris, PRATS, Juan P. , KISTER, Pierre. THE WAR AND THE DISARM. Editions Grammont. Lausanne – France, 1979.

OVERSCAN’S GUIDE TO RUSSIAN MILITARY AVIONICS [email]-avionics@overscan.co.uk[/email]

WIKIPEDIA – Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. http://www.wikipedia.com

MiG 25 FOXBAT – http://www.vectorsite.net

FAS – Federations of American Scientists – http://www.fas.org

Google Images: Imagery Sources – http://www.images.google.com