Dominate South Asia

The Soviet Union was too backward. The US F-15 was delivered to the US Air Force in 1974. So when the F-15 was flying in the sky, the Soviet Union's second-generation MiG-21 and MiG-23 were fighting with them. This was a generation behind, resulting in serious losses of Soviet fighters, especially in the air battle between Syria and Israel. The exchange ratio was unacceptable to the Soviet Union.

And now, the Soviet Union's MiG-29, Su-27 and other third-generation aircraft have begun to enter service, a full ten years later than the United States.

Ten years, what does this mean? It means that the Soviet fighters have fallen behind again after being equipped with troops!

The Su-27 is the most advanced third-generation fighter of the Soviet Air Force. It has an extremely high thrust-to-weight ratio and comprehensively surpasses the various technical data of the F-15. It seems to look very good, but at this time, the United States has begun to develop the fourth-generation fighter!

The United States is transparent in many aspects. For example, last year, the United States issued a tender, and Lockheed and Northrop were selected to develop the next generation of fighters, and were given the numbers of YF-22 and YF-23 fighters. The advanced fourth-generation fighters of the United States have entered the research and development stage, and this kind of fighter with high performance requirements cannot be completed by each company alone, so Lockheed, General Dynamics and Boeing reached an agreement that if only one company's design is selected, the remaining companies will also join the development of advanced tactical fighters. Northrop also has the same plan as McDonnell Douglas, which is almost all the efforts of major American airlines to study new fighters.

Marshal Ogarkov is not not considering the military, but holding a responsible attitude, thinking that his third-generation aircraft is ultimately just a transition, and he must increase his strength. Only by developing the fourth-generation aircraft can we catch up with the progress of the United States and compete with the Americans for future air supremacy.

The performance of the third-generation aircraft of the Soviet Union was poor. Even the Tomcat fighters of the Americans more than a decade ago could not be defeated in the sky over the battlefield in Afghanistan, which showed that the Soviet Union still had a long way to go.

Ogarkov was not a person who did not know how to adapt. Now, the Su-27 had been leaked. And the Soviet Union did not have much funds to support the research and development of new fighters, so it simply pushed the Su-27 to export!

There are many potential customers for the Su-27. Iraq and India are the first potential buyers. Relying on the export of the Su-27, it can provide a lot of financial support to the Soviet Union!

At the same time, Ogarkov also knew that the Soviet Union was not behind in the fourth-generation aircraft project. The Mikoyan Design Bureau was catching up.

In 1983, the MiG-29 began to be finalized. At the same time, the development of the next generation of fighters had already begun in the Mikoyan Design Bureau. In the field that it was best at, the air superiority fighter was actually suppressed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau, which had always produced interceptors. The chief designer of the Mikoyan Design Bureau, Ladislav Belyakov. With the main personnel of the design bureau, the project plan was started. The design code was MiG-1.42. The technical verification aircraft code was MiG-1.44.

The aerodynamic shape of the aircraft still came from the Soviet Central Institute of Fluid and Aerodynamics. They suggested that Mikoyan apply a fully movable canard layout to the new generation of combat aircraft, thereby relaxing static stability, improving structural strength and improving lift coefficient.

According to the opinions of the Central Institute of Fluids, the appearance of MiG-1.42 was determined. The aerodynamic design of close-coupled canards, tailless delta wings, multi-wave adjustable air inlets on the belly, twin engines, and twin vertical tails.

The main wing has leading edge maneuvering flaps, and there are flaps and ailerons at the back; the leading edge root of the canard is designed with sawtooth; the twin vertical tails with vertical stabilizers are tilted 15° outward. Installed on the tail support extending backward from the main wing; there are movable deflection wing surfaces at the end of the tail support and the ventral fin, and the vertical tail distance is large, which can avoid the vortex caused by the canard and the edge strip.

What is even more special is that there is a horizontal control surface between the vertical tail and the engine nozzle, which can still maintain roll control at high angles of attack. The vertical tail above and the ventral fin below can hold the airflow and strengthen the role of these two control surfaces.

The rear half of the ventral fin is a movable control surface. It is also used to control yaw at particularly large angles of attack.

There are as many as 18 control surfaces throughout the body! There is no other way to control it except by fly-by-wire operation. At the same time, this is also the first time that a Soviet fighter jet has adopted a canard layout.

In addition to these, the MiG 1.42 also attaches great importance to stealth performance. The fuselage uses a large amount of composite materials and integrated infrared feature control technology, and the air intake on the belly adopts a unique design and radar-absorbing coating. All airborne weapons can be hung in the belly bomb bay, reducing the echo area. Moreover, the canopy is also treated with metal coating to block radar waves.

The overall performance is advanced, and the power is also good. By adopting the AL-41F engine developed by Lyulka-Saturn based on the AL-31F engine, the maximum afterburner thrust is 175 kN, and the thrust-to-weight ratio exceeds 10, it is guaranteed that this fighter can do long-term supersonic cruise flight without opening the afterburner. The maximum high-altitude cruise speed exceeds Mach 2.6, the supersonic range is 2,000 kilometers, and the subsonic range is more than 4,000 kilometers.

Rather than competing with the advanced fighters of the United States, it is better to say that the Mikoyan Design Bureau is holding back a breath and wants to suppress the Sukhoi Design Bureau. In the field of fighters, the Mikoyan Design Bureau is the first!

In the field of this fourth-generation fighter jet, the Soviet Union has caught up. Historically, the preliminary design began in 1983, the 1.42 design plan of the Mikoyan Design Bureau was approved in 1988, and the Mikoyan Design Bureau completed a full set of drawings in 1989. Design work and production of the first fighter aircraft began. In 1994, the MiG-1.44 fighter jet conducted its first high-speed ground taxiing test.

During the same period, the United States' fourth-generation aircraft, the Lockheed YF-22 prototype using Pratt \u0026 Whitney engines, was selected by the U.S. Air Force in 1991. In 1997, the F-22 made its first flight.

If it were not for the disintegration of the Soviet Union, even if the Soviet Union could delay its disintegration until 1994 or 1995, the MiG 1.44 would already have an official air force number and enter the Soviet Air Force. The Soviet Union would have kept pace with the United States in terms of fourth-generation aircraft. .

The final fate of the MiG 1.44 made people sigh, and even the fate of the entire Mikoyan Design Bureau was helplessly merged into the Sukhoi Design Bureau.

Now, history has changed a lot. When the secret of the Su-27 has been leaked, and when Marshal Ogarkov's influence in the army has gradually increased, Marshal Ogarkov insisted on his point of view. , since the Su-27 has no secrets left, what's the use of covering it up? It is better to export in exchange for continued foreign exchange!

If the country wants to develop, it must reduce military expenditures. Now, high military expenditures are the main reason for bringing down the Soviet Union. From top to bottom, everyone except the military has this idea.

We must cut military spending and focus the country's main financial resources on economic construction, just like Eastern countries!

In the 1970s, the economies of Eastern countries were still in a mess. But now, in less than eight years, the economies of Eastern countries have begun to show considerable development. This is an example of successful reform and transformation! The Soviet Union must do the same!

However, while cutting military spending, what should we do while maintaining sufficient combat effectiveness? Then we can only start from the army itself. The Soviet Union has a huge military industry and strong production capacity. Simply let these military industries serve the national economy!

Export advanced weapons and equipment in exchange for sufficient foreign exchange, which can then be invested in the military industry to achieve healthy development while reducing the country's investment. This is the result of discussions between Marshal Ogarkov, General Secretary Gorbachev and others.

The biggest opponent of the military is Marshal Sokolov. After returning from the Turkmenistan Military District, Ogarkov wanted to have a war of words with the Minister of Defense to get Marshal Sokolov to agree to this idea.

"The Su-27 is an important pillar of our national defense military strength. I will never agree to export fighters like ours." Marshal Sokolov said: "After the MiG 1.42 plan is successfully implemented, we will export Su-27 again. 27 is not too late.”

Marshal Sokolov still would not agree.

"If we don't export the Su-27, there simply won't be enough funds to promote the MiG 1.42 project." Ogarkov said.

"How is it possible? Where is our state funding?" Marshal Sokolov said.

"The state's allocation will gradually decrease." Gorbachev said: "In order to develop its own economy, China can lay off millions of troops. The military expenditure of our army has seriously dragged down our economy and our military industry. Gradually reduce the state’s financial support and implement military-to-civilian transformation like China did.”

Marshal Sokolov was immediately furious: "This is killing our army and destroying our national defense industry. Since the founding of the Soviet Union, it has taken decades to build a huge military industry. Now, you are going to I will not agree to the destruction of our military industry unless I am relieved of my current position!”

If Marshal Ustinov was still alive, he would probably immediately pull out a gun and point it at Gorbachev's head. How dare he take advantage of the army? The Soviet army is the foundation of the Soviet Union's strength!

"If you are willing to resign, then I will agree to your request, and the Politburo will also agree to your request." At this moment, Marshal Sokolov heard a quiet voice.

Gorbachev has long wanted to kick out Marshal Sokolov. With him around, it will not be easy for his own reforms to proceed, because if he wants to reform, it will touch the interests of many people. First of all, the military Party’s interests! The huge army and huge military industry were important reasons for bringing down the Soviet Union! (To be continued ~^~)