Mikoyan MiG-31

The Mikoyan MiG-31 (Russian: Микоян МиГ-31; NATO reporting name: Foxhound) is a supersonic interceptor aircraft developed for use by the Soviet Air Forces. The aircraft was designed by the Mikoyan design bureau as a replacement for the earlier MiG-25 "Foxbat"; the MiG-31 is based on, and shares design elements with the MiG-25. The MiG-31 has the distinction of being one of the fastest combat jets in the world. It continues to be operated by the Russian Air Force and the Kazakhstan Air Force following the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union in late 1991. The Russian Defence Ministry expects the MiG-31 to remain in service until at least 2030.

Development

Origins

The MiG-25 made substantial design sacrifices in capability in order to achieve high speed, altitude and rate of climb. It lacks maneuverability at interception speeds and is difficult to fly at low altitudes. The MiG-25's speed is limited to Mach 2.83 but could reach a maximum speed of Mach 3.2 or more with the risk of engine damage.

Fictional military aircraft

Fictional military aircraft are imagined aircraft which are used in fiction, in its various media, but do not exist in the real world. These aircraft may be conjectured variants of real-world aircraft or they may be completely fabricated by the author. Some may be physically impossible.

Fictional fighters

XF-18 Scavenger

The XF-18 Scavenger is a highly capable all-weather reconnaissance plane described in Michael Crichton's novel The Andromeda Strain.

F-19 Stealth

In the 1980s, a gap appeared in the designation system for U.S. military aircraft, between the F/A-18 Hornet and the F-20 Tigershark. This unseen F-19 was speculated to be a top-secret stealth fighter in U.S. service. Various depictions of F-19s have since appeared in fictional works, as well as in the usually accurate Jane's All the World's Aircraft publication (as the Lockheed RF-19 and XST).

American model airplane manufacturers Testors and Monogram have both released hypothetical model kits of the F-19, the former quickly becoming the best-selling model airplane kit ever. Ironically, the Testors F-19 model had some fundamentally contradictory features in respect to the actual F-117, including a sweeping, curved, streamlined leading edge as opposed to the sharp, angular design of the Nighthawk. On the other hand, Testor's F-19 did have two inwardly slanting vertical fins, as did the Have Blue Nighthawk prototype.

Podcasts:

PLAYLIST TIME:
×