Pyotr Ostapenko, Russia's Chuck Yeagar dies

MiG: between Past and Future

18:53 22/09/2010 MiG aircraft are well known and popular in many parts of the world.>>

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17:04 09/04/2012

MOSCOW, April 9 (RIA Novosti)

Tags: MiG-29, MiG-21, MiG-31, Russia

One of the Soviet Union's greatest test pilots, Pyotr Ostapenko, who helped develop MiG fighter planes for over thirty years, died aged 83 on Sunday, MiG said.

"One of our country's oldest test pilots passed away on April 8," MiG said. "All his life Pyotr Maksimovich Ostapenko was inseparably connected with national and world aviation. His contribution as a test pilot to the development of world aviation was priceless."

Ostapenko helped develop no less than 64 aircraft variants, including the MiG-21, MiG-23, MiG-25, MiG-27, MiG-29 and MiG-31 fighters and interceptors, and the EPOS (article 105.11) space vehicle prototype. He flew over 5,000 hours as a test pilot, made over 10,000 landings, and held eight world aviation records including absolute altitude and speed records gained in Ye-166 and MiG-25 aircraft.

He survived an ejection from a prototype MiG-31 interceptor in 1979.

He made a huge contribution to MiG's test pilot school. Awarded Hero of the Soviet Union, he also held the Order of Lenin, Red Banner Order of Labor, Red Star, and was awarded a USSR State Prize. He was also awarded the title of USSR Senior Test Pilot and USSR Senior Aircraft Builder.

He was also awarded the De Lavaux international aviation prize in 1963.

His son Viktor is also a test pilot and aerobatics instructor.

source:  http://en.rian.ru/russia/20120409/172706896.html

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Chinese J-20 appears to be a knockoff of the Mig 1.44

Mikoyan Project 1.44 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Mikoyan Project 1.44/1.42[1] (Russian: Микоян МиГ-1.44) is a technology demonstrator developed by the Mikoyan Design Bureau.

Apart from a number of names along the lines of "Object/Project 1.44/1.42", the aircraft is also known as the MiG-MFI.

This MiG is now using this designation for an advanced Mikoyan MiG-29.

The Russian government cancelled the initial program in 1997 because of the cost.

An artist's conception of the MiG 1.44 technology demonstrator with delta wing design

The 1.44 was Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau's entry to the Multifunctional Frontline Fighter (MFI) program, which originated in 1986.

Similar to the United States' Advanced Tactical Fighter. It was designed to compete with the American Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor.

Many of its design features are similar to those found on 4.5 generation Western fighters, including supercruise ability and modern avionics.

The 1.44 served mainly as a technological showcase and testbed for future aircraft designs, not as an actual air superiority fighter prototype.

The MiG 1.44 program has been shrouded in mystery throughout the course of its existence. The Russian government cancelled the MFI program in 1997 due to its high unit cost (US$70 million).

Development continued, with the first test flight taking place on February 29, 2000 as well as two confirmed test flights in 2001.

After the cancellation of the MFI program the the Prospective Air Complex for Tactical Air Forces (PAK FA) program was initiated in order to develop an advanced air superiority fighter to fill a role similar to that of the F-22, with a cost similar to that of the F-35 Lightning II.

In 2001, India agreed with Russia to make the PAK FA program a development/production joint-venture between the two nations. Both Mikoyan and Sukhoi submitted concepts to the Defense Ministry for the PAK FA program, with MiG starting an updated Project 1.44.

The MiG 1.44 formerly served as a technology demonstrator for the PAK FA program. The in-development PAK FA aircraft will use the same in-development Lyulka AL-41F engine planned for the 1.44.

The 1.42/44 is a delta wing, twin-tailed single seat air superiority/strike fighter with an all-moving forward canard plane. It has a tricycle landing gear system, with a single, dual-wheel landing gear in the front, and two single-wheels in the rear.

It is powered by two Lyulka AL-41F afterburning, thrust vectored turbofan engines. Both engines are fed by two air intakes placed side by side under the fuselage. The intakes include serpentine ducts covered in radar adsorbent material.

It features an internal weapons bay between the engines. Weapons and fuel tanks can be carried under the wings as well.

The 35-ton aircraft has a maximum speed of over Mach 2 at altitude, and is capable of long-term supersonic flight.

The fighter is equipped with a glass cockpit and features a Pulse-Doppler radar with a passive electronically scanned array antenna.

The radar system is linked to a fire control system that allows the fighter to engage up to twenty separate targets at the same time.

Note: The 1.44 and 1.42 never went beyond pre-production, so most of the specifications are estimated.

^{General characteristics}

• ^{Crew: 1}
• ^{Length: 19 m (63 ft)}
• ^{Wingspan: 15 m (50 ft)}
• ^{Height: 4.50 m (15 ft)}
• ^{Empty weight: 18,000 kg (40,000 lb)}
• ^{Loaded weight: 28,000 kg (62,000 lb)}
• ^{Max takeoff weight: 35,000 kg (77,000 lb)}
• ^{Powerplant: 2× Lyulka AL-41F afterburning turbofans, 176 kN (39,680 lb) each}

^Performance

• ^{Maximum speed: Mach 2.6 (2761 km/h, 1716 mph)}
• ^{Range: 4,000 km (2,500 mi)}
• ^{Service ceiling: 27,000 m (70,720 ft)}

^Armament

• ^{Guns: 1× 30 mm Izhmash GSh-301 cannon, 250 rounds}
• ^{Missiles: R-77 (AA-12 Adder) medium-range radar-guided missiles and the R-73 (AA-11 Archer)} 
• ^{K-37 long-range radar-guided missiles and K-74 short-range IR-guided missiles}
• ^{Payload: likely any AGM or small-diameter free fall bomb in the Russian inventory}

^{source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan_Project_1.44}


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Ria Novosti: Russian arms exporter denies MiG-31 fighter contract with Syria

13:42 27/10/2010

LE BOURGET, October 27 (RIA Novosti) Russia does not have a contract to supply MiG-31 Foxhound fighter jets to Syria, the head of the Russian state-run arms exporter Rosoboronexport said on Wednesday.

Media rumors about the sales of at least six MiG-31 aircraft to Damascus under a 2007 contract sparked criticism in the West and Israel, which consider arming Syria a threat to regional security.

"The existence of a contract on the delivery of MiG-31 interceptors to Syria is a journalistic hoax," Rosoboronexport General Director Anatoly Isaykin told reporters at the Euronaval 2010 exhibition in Paris.

The MiG-31 Foxhound is a two-seater supersonic interceptor aircraft developed to replace the MiG-25 Foxbat. It is equipped with two D-30F6 turbofan two-shaft engines with a common afterburner and a variable supersonic nozzle, which allow the aircraft to fly at supersonic speeds of up to Mach 2.83.

The interceptor also features unique air-to-air missiles capable of hitting targets at ranges exceeding 200 kilometers (125 miles), including aircraft with stealth capabilities, cruise missiles, and supersonic aircraft.

Meanwhile, Israel has signed a contract with the United States in the past month to buy 20 advanced F-35 fighter jets after Washington offered "incentives" for the Jewish state to help sputtering peace talks.

The sale of the US-made Joint Strike Fighter will arm Israel with a more sophisticated combat aircraft than any nation in the Middle East, amid rising tensions with Iran and after a major US arms sale to Saudi Arabia.So far little progress has been made in the Israel-Palestine peace talks.

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Russian military aviation potential shown off at Farnborough

15 July, 2008, 06:55


More than 60 Russian companies are participating in the world class Farnborough International Airshow in the UK this year with Russia looking to show off its military export potential, but plane makers aren't flying their products.

Russia’s military holding Rosoboronexport’s paid for an exclusive stall next to the runway, away from other exhibitors at Farnborough this week.

It reflects the company’s soaring confidence, boasting no other country’s doubled military exports this century, as Russia has to US$6.1 billion dollars.

The country’s top 3 – Sukhoi, Irkut and MiG – are all holding optomistic conferences at Farnborough.

However the Kremlin’s incorporation of the firms into a United Aircraft Corporation has raised fears of less responsive and dynamic operators, fears shared by Aleksey Fedorov, President of the UAC: 

"Yes, it’s correct, but we’re also investing a lot of money and resources to upgrade our industry, and I think we’ll be successful."

Not a single Russian plane’s expected to fly here this week, the makers claim they’re too busy testing and upgrading.

It’s a stark contrast to the world’s top exporter, the US Air Force, which is showing, but not selling.

It’s brought over the F22, said by some to be the only plane better than Sukhoi’s new Su-35. But America claims the world’s only 5th generation fighter is too dangerous to export. Georganne Schultz, Spokeswoman, U.S. Air Force says:

It's such a new aircraft that we're still learning all its capabilities and how they're going to work as a composite force.  So, we're really getting a handle on the program.

The American aircraft is, in fact, having problems with the composite skin that is glued together. It costs $44,000 per flying hour to maintain the aircraft. It takes a 24 hour period for the glue to cure when repairs are made. 


Russia’s more than happy to fill the gap, Rosoboronexport’s $20 bln order book is filled to 2015. The US Department of Defense also wants to scale back the contract for the F22 Raptor.

This is the first F22 to perform at a trade show across the Atlantic, but it’s strictly for show not for export. In fact maker Lockheed Martin was outsold on export last year 51:40 by Russia’s Sukhoi. The government hopes that the consolidation through the United Aircraft Corporation will help, not hinder, those results.

Russian fighter aircraft are very competitive in cost per unit as well.

http://www.russiatoday.com/Business/2008-07-15/Russian_military_aviation_potential_shown_off_at_Farnborough.html#



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