Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25

MiG-25
Role Interceptor/Reconnaissance
Manufacturer Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB
First flight 6 March 1964
Introduced 1970
Status Limited active service
Primary users Russian Air Force
Algerian Air Force
Syrian Air Force
Military of Turkmenistan
Number built 1,190
Developed into Mikoyan MiG-31

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 (Russian: МиГ-25) (NATO reporting name: Foxbat) is a high-supersonic interceptor and reconnaissance-bomber aircraft designed by the Soviet Union's Mikoyan-Gurevich bureau. First flown as a prototype in 1964, it entered service in 1970. With a top speed of Mach 2.83+, a powerful radar and four air-to-air missiles, the MiG-25 worried U.S. observers and prompted development of the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle in late 1960s. The aircraft's capabilities were better understood in 1976 when Soviet pilot Viktor Belenko defected in a MiG-25 to the United States via Japan. Production of the MiG-25 series ended in 1984 after completion of 1,190 aircraft.[1] The MiG-25 flew with a number of Soviet allies and former Soviet republics and it remains in limited service in Russia and several other nations.

Contents

Design and development

Background

During the Cold War, Soviet Air Defence Forces, PVO (not to be confused with Soviet Air Force, VVS) was tasked with the strategic air defence of the USSR. In the decades after World War II, this meant not only to deal with accidental border violations, but more importantly to defend the vast airspace of the USSR against US reconnaissance aircraft and strategic bombers carrying nuclear armed free-fall bombs (a threat that no longer exist today). The performance of these types of aircraft was steadily improved. Overflights by the very high flying American Lockheed U-2s in the late 1950s revealed a need for higher altitude interceptor aircraft than what was then available[2]. The subsonic Boeing B-47 Stratojet and Boeing B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers were followed by the Mach 2 capable Convair B-58_Hustler, with the even faster North American XB-70 Valkyrie on the drawing board. A major up-grade in the PVO defence system was required, and at the start of 1958 a requirement was issued for manned interceptors capable of going 3,000 km/h and fly at heights up to 27 km (88,583 ft). Mikoyan and Sukhoi responded. [3]

YE-152 & YE-152M experimental fighter

The Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB had been working on a series of interceptors during the second half of the 1950s: The I-1, I-3U, I-7U, I-75 Ye-150 Ye-150A, Ye 152, Ye-152A and Ye-152P (rebuilt from one of the two Ye-152 aircraft). The Ye-150 was noteworthy because it was built specifically to test the Tumansky R-15 engine that would later be used for the MiG-25. The Ye-152 with the R-15 engine set several world records under the designation 'Ye-166'.[4]It was intended to be the definite Heavy Interceptor design, as would the Ye-152M. However, when the Ye-152P was finished the PVO had already selected the Tupolev Tu-128, the work on the MiG-25 was well under way, and the Ye-152M was never built.

Actual work on the new Russian interceptor that would become the MiG-25 started mid-1959[5] (a year before Soviet intelligence learned of the US Mach 3 A-12 reconnaissance aircraft.[6]) It is not clear if the design was influenced by the American Vigilante, or not[5]. Requirements could easily have lead the design team to use a similar layout. The promise of the new design roused the military's interest in both VVS and PVO. In February 1961 the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union issued a joint directive with the Council of Ministers of the USSR, tasking the Mikoyan 0KB with the development of an aircraft designated Ye-155, the interceptor and reconnaissance versions of which were designatedYe-155P (Perekhvatchik - radar-directed, all weather interceptor) and Ye-155R (Razvedchik-reconnaissance) respectively. On 10 March 1961, Mikoyan signed a formal order to start design work on the Ye-155.

Aircraft design

Preliminary Design Stage

The design bureau studied several possible layouts for the new aircraft. One had the engines located side-by-side, as on the MiG-19. The second had a stepped arrangement with one engine amidships, with exhaust under the fuselage, and another in the aft fuselage. Interestingly the third project had an engine arrangement similar to that of the English Electric Lightning, with two engines stacked vertically. Option two and three were both rejected because the size of the engines meant any of them would result in a very tall aircraft which would complicate maintenance.[5]

The idea of placing the engines in underwing nacelles was also rejected because of the dangers of any thrust asymmetry during flight. Having decided on engine configuration there was thoughts on giving the machine variable geometry wings "aka" Swing wings and a second crew member, a navigator. Wings with variable geometry would improve maneuverability at subsonic speed, but at the cost of extra weight. Because the reconnaissance aircraft would operate at high speed and high altitude the idea was soon dropped. Another interesting but impractical idea was to improve the field performance using two RD36-35 lift-jets. Vertical takeoff and landing would allow for use of damaged runways during wartime and was studied on both sides of the Iron Curtain. However the problem has always been that engines dedicated to vertical lift do not contribute with any power in vertical flight, and occupy space in the airframe needed for fuel. The MiG interceptor would need all the fuel it could get so the idea went nowhere.

A variety of other roles were considered for the aircraft, including cruise missile carrier and even a small five to seven-passenger supersonic transport, but none of these got anywhere and only the main directive of a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft for the Frontal Aviation and heavy interceptor for homeland defence was ever realised.

Technical Description

Because of the thermal stresses incurred in flight above Mach 2, the Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB had difficulties with choosing what materials to use for the aircraft. They had to use E-2 heat-resistant plexiglass for the canopy, and much of high-strength stainless steel for the wings and fuselage. Using titanium rather than steel would have been ideal, but it was expensive and difficult to shape with tools. The problem of cracks in welded titanium structures with thin walls could not be solved. So the heavier nickel steel was used instead. It cost far less than titanium and allowed for welding, along with heat resistance seals.[5] The MiG-25 was constructed from 80% nickel steel alloy, 11% aluminum, and 9% titanium.[7] The steel components were formed by a combination of spot-welding, automatic machine welding and hand arc welding methods.

Ye-155R3 Reconnaissance prototype with a 5.280 litre drop tank under the belly(1964)

The first prototype was a reconnaissance variant, designated "Ye-155-R1", and made its first flight on 6 March 1964. The first flight of the interceptor prototype, "Ye-155-P1", took place on 9 September 1964. Development, which represented a major step forward in Soviet aerodynamics, engineering and metallurgy, took several more years to complete. In the meantime several prototypes, under the cover designation "Ye-266" (or "Е-266"), made a series of record-setting flights in 1965, 1966 and 1967 for speed, altitude and climb to height. Several records still stand, in particular, on 31 August 1977, an Ye-266M flown by MiG OKB Chief Test Pilot Alexander V. Fedotov, set the recognized absolute altitude record for a jet aircraft under its own power, reaching 37,650 m (123,523.62 ft. or 23.39 miles) at Podmoskovnoye, USSR in zoom climb (absolute altitude is a different record than the sustained altitude in horizontal flight). The aircraft was a MiG-25RB re-engined with the powerful R15BF2-300. It had earlier been part of the program to improve the aircraft's top speed that resulted in the MiG-25M prototype.[5]

Production

Full scale production of the MiG-25P ("Foxbat-A") (interceptor) began in 1971. Production of the MiG-25R ('Foxbat-B'), reconnaissance variant began earlier, in 1969. Introduction of the new aircraft into service went smoothly.[5] A non-combat trainer variant ("Foxbat-C") was also developed for each version, the MiG-25PU and MiG-25RU, respectively. The MiG-25R evolved several subsequent derivatives, including the MiG-25RB reconnaissance-bomber, the MiG-25RBS ("Foxbat-D") with side-looking airborne radar (SLAR), the MiG-25RBK ELINT aircraft, and the MiG-25BM ("Foxbat-F") SEAD variant, carrying four Raduga Kh-58 (NATO reporting name AS-11 'Kilter') anti-radiation missiles. The BM variant was introduced late into service, in 1988.

Cameras of the MiG-25RB

Performance

The MiG-25 was theoretically capable of a maximum speed of Mach 3+ and a ceiling of 90,000 ft (27,000 m). However, its high speed was problematic: although sufficient thrust was available to reach Mach 3.2, a limit of Mach 2.8 had to be imposed as the turbines tended to overspeed and overheat at higher speeds, possibly damaging them beyond repair.[8][9][10][11]

Western intelligence and the MiG-25

Mig-25.jpg

Inaccurate intelligence analysis caused the West to initially believe the MiG-25 was an agile air-combat fighter rather than an interceptor. In response, the United States started a new program which resulted in the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle.[12][13] NATO obtained a better understanding of the MiG-25s capabilities on 6 September 1976, when a Soviet Air Defence Forces pilot, Lt. Viktor Belenko, defected, landing his MiG-25P at Hakodate Airport in Japan. [14] The pilot overshot the runway on landing, damaging the landing gear and making the MiG-25 un-airworthy. It was carefully dismantled and analyzed by the Foreign Technology Division (now the National Air and Space Intelligence Center) of the United States Air Force, at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. After 67 days, the aircraft was returned to the Soviets in pieces. The analysis, based on technical manuals and ground tests of engines and avionics, revealed unusual technical information:

Later versions

As the result of Belenko's defection and the compromise of the MiG-25P's radar and missile systems, beginning in 1976, the Soviets started to develop an advanced version, the MiG-25PD ("Foxbat-E").[5] This upgrade consisted of new RP-25 Sapfeer/ Saphir look-down/shoot-down radar, infrared search and track (IRST) system, other electronic improvements and more powerful R15B-300 engines. About 370 earlier MiG-25Ps were converted to this standard and redesignated MiG-25PDS.

Plans for a new aircraft to develop the Foxbat's potential to go faster than the in-service limit of Mach 2.8 were designed as a flying prototype. Unofficially designated MiG-25M, it had new powerful engines R15BF2-300, improved radar, and missiles. This work never resulted in a machine for series production, however, as the coming MiG-31 showed more promise.[5]

Operational history

Before entering operational service, two MiG-25R, and two MiG-25RB were sent to Egypt in March 1971 (they stayed until July 1972). They were operated by the Soviet 63rd Independent Air Detachment set up specially for this mission. Det 63 flew over Israeli held territory on reconnaissance missions roughly 20 times. The flights were in pairs at maximum speed and high altitude (between 17,000–23,000 m).[5]

On 6 November 1971, an Egyptian MiG-25 flying at Mach 2.5 was met by Israeli F-4Es and fired upon unsuccessfully.[18][9] A MiG-25 was tracked flying over Sinai at Mach 3.2 during this period. The MiG-25 oversped its engines, which led to their destruction.[6] Unit Det 63 was sent back home in 1972, though reconnaissance Foxbats were sent back to Egypt in 19-20 October 1973 during the Yom Kippur War.[18] Unit Det 154 remained there until late 1974.

The MiG-25 was in service with the Iraqi Air Force during the Iran–Iraq War, but its success against Iranian fighters is largely unknown. Research by journalist Tom Cooper shows that as many as 14 MIG-25s may have been shot down by Iranian fighters during the period spanning 1978 to 1988,[19][20][21] although it is difficult to determine the validity of these claims. The most widely known Iraqi pilot of the war was Colonel Mohommed "Sky Falcon" Rayyan, who was credited with 10 kills. Eight of these were while flying the MiG-25P against the IRIAF from 1981 to 1986. This total makes him an ace and the most successful MiG-25 pilot.[22]

During the Persian Gulf War, a US Navy F/A-18 piloted by Lt Cdr Scott Speicher was shot down on the first night of the war by a missile[23] probably fired by a MiG-25.[24] The kill was reportedly made with a R-40TD missile fired from a MiG-25PDS flown by Lt. Zuhair Dawood of the 84th squadron of the IrAF.[25]

In another incident, an Iraqi MiG-25PD, after eluding eight U.S. Air Force F-15s, fired three missiles at General Dynamics EF-111A Raven electronic warfare aircraft, forcing them to abort their mission and leave attacking aircraft without electronic jamming support. [N 1]

In yet another incident, two MiG-25s approached a pair of F-15s, fired missiles (which were evaded by the F-15s), and then outran the American fighters. Two more F-15s joined the pursuit, and a total of 10 air-to-air missiles were fired at the MiG-25s, although none reached them.[27] According to the same sources, at least one F-111 was also forced to abort its mission by a MiG-25 on the first 24 hours of hostilities, during an air raid over Tikrit.[28]

Two MiG-25s were shot down by USAF F-15Cs during the Gulf War. After the war, in 1992, a U.S. F-16 downed a MiG-25 that violated the no-fly zone in southern Iraq.

In May 1997, an Indian Air Force MiG-25RB was detected flying faster than Mach 2 at least 65,000 ft,over Pakistani territory following a reconnaissance mission into Pakistan airspace. However, from one of PAF's Forward Operating Bases, radar traced the intruder and the F-16As scrambled, but could not reach the MIG-25's ceiling. India denied the incident but Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Gohar Ayub Khan, believed that the Foxbat photographed strategic installations near the capital, Islamabad.[29] The MiG-25 was an important strategic asset to India until the advent of reconnaissance satellites.

On 23 December 2002, an Iraqi MiG-25 shot down a U.S. Air Force unmanned MQ-1 Predator drone, which was performing armed reconnaissance over Iraq. This was the first time in history that an aircraft and an unmanned drone had engaged in combat. Predators had been armed with AIM-92 Stinger air-to-air missiles, and were being used to "bait" Iraqi fighter aircraft, then run. In this incident, the Predator did not run, but instead fired one of the Stingers, which missed, while the MiG's missile did not.[30][31]

No Iraqi aircraft were deployed in the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, with most Iraqi aircraft being hidden or destroyed on the ground. In August 2003, several dozen Iraqi aircraft were discovered buried in the sand. Those aircraft included two MiG-25s, which were excavated and sent to WPAFB's Foreign Technology Division using a C-5B Galaxy. In December 2006, it was announced that one MiG-25 was being donated to the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Dayton, Ohio.[32]

Variants

Ye-133
This designation was given to one aircraft, it was used by Svetlana Savitskaya to establish a number of women's speed and height records. The Ye-133 set a women's speed record of 2,683.44-km (1.667.412 mph) on the 22 June 1975.
Ye-155-R1
Reconnaissance prototype.
Ye-155-P1
Interceptor fighter prototype.
Ye-266
High-speed record breaking aircraft. The Ye-266 set a new speed record in a 1,000 km (621 mile) close circuit in April 1965.
Ye-266M
High-altitude record breaking aircraft. The Ye-266M set an absolute altitude record of 37,650 m (123,524 ft).
MiG-25R "Foxbat-B"
Single-seat reconnaissance aircraft, fitted with cameras, sensors and ECCM equipment.
MiG-25P "Foxbat-A"
Single-seat all-weather interceptor fighter aircraft, powered by two Tumansky R-15B-300 turbojet engines, armed with four R-40 air-to-air missiles.
MiG-25PU "Foxbat-C"
Two-seat trainer aircraft, with a new nose section fitted with two separate cockpits, lacks radar and has no combat capability.
MiG-25RB "Foxbat-B"
Single-seat reconnaissance-bomber aircraft, fitted with cameras and a Peleng automatic bombing system. The aircraft can carry a bombload of six 1,102 lb (500 kg) bombs or one nuclear weapon.
MiG-25RBS "Foxbat-D"
Single-seat reconnaissance-bomber aircraft, fitted with cameras and a side looking airborne radar (SLAR), equipped with a Sabla radio location system.
MiG-25RBSh
MiG-25RBS "Foxbats" fitted with new equipment.
MiG-25RBK
Single-seat Elint aircraft, fitted with a side looking airborne radar.
MiG-25RBT
Single-seat Elint aircraft.
MiG-25RBV
Single-seat reconnaissance-bomber aircraft, fitted improved equipment.
MiG-25RU
Two-seat reconnaissance, trainer aircraft, it has no operational equipment.
MiG-25BM "Foxbat-F"
Single-seat defence-suppression aircraft, armed with Kh-58 or Kh-31 air-to-surface missiles.
MiG-25PD "Foxbat-E"
Single-seat all-weather interceptor fighter aircraft, fitted with a RP-25 look-down/shoot down radar, and an undernose IR search and track system, powered by two Tumansky R-15BD-300 turbojet engines, armed with two R-40 and four R-60 air-to-air missiles.
MiG-25PDS
This designation was applied to all surviving MiG-25P "Foxbat A"s. The aircraft were subsequently upgraded in the early 1980s.

Operators

MiG-25 Operators 2010 (former operators in red)

Current operators

 Algeria
 Armenia
 Azerbaijan
 Kazakhstan
 Russia
 Syria
 Turkmenistan

Former operators

Iraqi MiG-25 found buried under the sand at Al Taqaddum Airbase, Iraq. 29 February 2004
MiG-25 of the Libyan Air Force
MiG-25 at the Ukrainian Air Force Museum in Vinnitsa
 Bulgaria
 Belarus
 India
 Iraq
 Georgia
 Libya
 Soviet Union - The largest operator historically, Soviet aircraft were passed on to its successor states in 1991.
 Ukraine

Survivors

Specifications (MiG-25P 'Foxbat-A')

Foxbt d1.gif

Data from The Great Book of Fighters[37] International Directory of Military Aircraft[38]

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

Avionics

See also

Related development

Comparable aircraft

Related lists

References

Notes
  1. Quote: "But as the Ravens began their second orbit in a counterclockwise turn toward the Syrian border (over Al-Qaim), a MiG-25 suddenly darted toward them at high speed. The Iraqi fired one air-to-air missile at the lead Raven and two at his wingman. The missiles flew wide, but the Ravens dived to escape and then, uncertain where the MiG was lurking, turned back to Saudi Arabia."[26]
Citations
  1. "Aircraft Museum: MiG-25 'Foxbat'." Aerospaceweb.org. Retrieved: 5 September 2010.
  2. Rich and Janos 1994, p. 15.
  3. Gordon and Gunston 2000, p. 166.
  4. Gordon and Gunston 2000, p. 106.
  5. 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18 Gordon 2008
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Spick 2000
  7. Eden 2004, p. 308.
  8. "Intelligence: Big-Mouth Belenko." Time, 11 October 1976. Retrieved: 12 May 2010.
  9. 9.0 9.1 Goebel, Greg. "MiG-25." vectorsite.net. Retrieved: 5 September 2010.
  10. "Mikoyan MiG-25 Foxbat." aeroweb.lucia.it. Retrieved: 5 September 2010.
  11. Gunston and Spick 1983, pp. 132–133.
  12. Davies 2002
  13. Jenkins 1998, pp. 6–7.
  14. 14.0 14.1 Barron 1980, p. 15.
  15. 15.0 15.1 Barron 1980, pp. 169–171.
  16. "MiG-25." globalaircraft.org. Retrieved: 5 September 2010.
  17. Broad, William J. "Nuclear Pulse (I): Awakening to the Chaos Factor," Science, Volume 212, 29 May 1981, pp. 1009–1012.
  18. 18.0 18.1 "Foxbats over Sinai." spyflight.co.uk. Retrieved: 5 September 2010.
  19. "Iranian Air-to-Air Victories 1982-today." acig.org, 19 May 2006.
  20. "Iranian Air-to-Air Victories 1976-1981." acig.org, 19 May 2006.
  21. Cooper and Bishop 2004
  22. Nicolle and Cooper 2004, pp. 82, 86.
  23. "Intelligence Community Assessment of the Lieutenant Commander Speicher Case". CIA, FOIA Electronic Reading Room, 27 March 2001. Retrieved: 10 September 2006.
  24. Weiner, Tim. "With Iraq's O.K., a U.S. Team Seeks War Pilot's Body." The New York Times, 14 December 1995, p. A1.
  25. Sadik, A. and D. Zampini. "Tretij Den' (i posledujuschie...)" ["The Third Day (and beyond...)."] Aviacija i vremja (Aviation and Time), No. 6, 2005.
  26. Atkinson 1993, pp. 125–126.
  27. Atkinson 1993, pp. 230–231.
  28. Atkinson 1993, p. 75.
  29. Steinemann, Peter. "VayuSena: Recce Incursion." Air Power International. Retrieved: 5 September 2010.
  30. Krane, Jim. "Pilotless Warriors Soar To Success." CBS News, 25 April 2003.
  31. "Video of Shoot-Down." CBS. Retrieved: 5 September 2010.
  32. 32.0 32.1 "MiG-25." nationalmuseum.af.mil. Retrieved: 5 September 2010.
  33. 33.0 33.1 "World Military Aircraft Inventory". 2010 Aerospace Source Book, Aviation Week and Space Technology, January 2010.
  34. 34.0 34.1 34.2 34.3 34.4 "Directory: World Air Forces". Flight International, 11-17 November 2008.
  35. "Syria - Air Force Equipment." globalsecurity.org. Retrieved: 5 September 2010.
  36. "Iraqi Perspectives Project Phase II. Um Al-Ma'arik (The Mother of All Battles): Operational and Strategic Insights from an Iraqi Perspective, Volume 1 (Revised May 2008)." Institute for Defense Analysis, May 2008.
  37. Green and Swanborough 2001
  38. 38.0 38.1 Frawley 2002, p. 123.
Bibliography
  • Atkinson, Rick. Crusade: The Untold History of the Persian Gulf War. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1993. ISBN 978-0395710838.
  • Barron, John. MiG Pilot: The Final Escape of Lt. Belenko. New York: Mcgraw-Hill, 1980. ISBN 0-380-53868-7.
  • Cooper Tom and Farzad Bishop. Iranian F-14 Units in Combat. London: Osprey Publishing, 2004. ISBN 978-1841767871.
  • Davies, Steve. Combat Legend, F-15 Eagle and Strike Eagle. London: Airlife Publishing, Ltd., 2002. ISBN 1-84037-377-6.
  • Eden, Paul, ed. "Mikoyan MiG-25 'Foxbat'". "Mikoyan MiG-31 'Foxhound'". Encyclopedia of Modern Military Aircraft. London: Amber Books, 2004. ISBN 1-90468-784-9.
  • Frawley, Gerald. "Mikoyan MiG-25." The International Directory of Military Aircraft, 2002/2003. Fyshwick, ACT, Australia: Aerospace Publications, 2002. ISBN 1-875671-55-2.
  • Gordon, Yefim. Mikoyan MiG-25 Foxbat: Guardian of the Soviet Borders (Red Star Vol. 34). Hinckley, UK: Midland Publishing Ltd., 2008. ISBN 978-1857802597.
  • Gordon, Yefim and Bill Gunston. Soviet X-Planes. Earl Shilton, Leicester, UK: Midland Publishing Ltd., 2000. ISBN 978-1857800999.
  • Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. The Great Book of Fighters. Osceola, WI: Motorbooks International Publishing, 2001. ISBN 0-7603-1194-3.
  • Gunston, Bill and Mike Spick. "Mikoyan/Gurevich MiG-25." Modern Air Combat: The Aircraft, Tactics and Weapons Employed in Aerial Combat Today. New York: Crescent Books, 1983. ISBN 978-0517412657.
  • Jenkins, Dennis R. McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle: Supreme Heavy-Weight Fighter. Arlington, TX: Aerofax, 1998. ISBN 1-85780-081-8.
  • Nicolle, David and Tom Cooper. Arab MiG-19 and MiG-21 Units in Combat (Osprey Combat Aircraft 044). London: Osprey Publishing, 2004. ISBN 978-1841766553.
  • Rich, Ben and Leo Janos. Skunk Works. New York: Little, Brown & Company, 1994. ISBN 0-316-74300-3.
  • Spick, Mike. The Great Book of Modern Warplanes. St. Paul, Minnesota: MBI, 2000. ISBN 0-7603-0893-4.

External links