Soviet Military Aircrafts Analysis

Conflicts are usually defined as hostile relationships between individuals. They can be perceived as a disagreement in opinion, thought, inaction or inaction or even emotion and in most of the cases are destructive. The past wars demonstrate that to us. Even though they cause many difficulties, we need to accept the fact that they helped the world develop technologically. On 24th February 2022, simultaneous with a still difficult situation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, Vladimir Putin launched an attack on Ukraine's territory. The two countries have a very disputed history but I'm here to make a short analysis of their military equipment, especially the one used by the air forces.

We should first state that Russia (900.000) has approximately 5 times more active personnel than Ukraine (196.00). The same situation unfolds when we take a look at the armoured fighting vehicles, Russia has 16.000 while Ukraine approximately 3.400. The gap between them increases when we get to the aircrafts. While the Russian air force possesses 1.400 aircrafts, Ukraine's only 132. Even bigger of a difference in favour of the Russians is by helicopters, 950 to 55. [1]

  Looking back into the past

A good example and proof of the continuous progress that the military aircrafts undergo is the Yakovlev Yak series. It is one of the most if not the most important Soviet fighter in the World War 2. The first models had wooden wings and tails with plywood and fabric coverings. The Yak-3 had a high power-to-weight ratio which gave it excellent performance, proving to be a formidable dogfighter. The later Yak-9 gave up the lightweight attribute when adding new armament (20 mm and 12.7mm). (Check for more details in Tab. 1) [2]

Type
Long-range fighter
Dimensions
Length: 8.55m

Wingspan: 9.74m

Height: 3.00m
Weight
3098kg
Powerplant
1 x Klimov M-105PF V-12 liquid-cooled piston engines (880kW)
Wing loading
186.82kg/m^2
Maximum speed
655km/h
Range
1360km
Service ceiling
9100m
Armament
1 x 20mm cannon

1 x 12.7mm machine gun
[Tab.1]

The Mikoyan MiG-29 “Fulcrum” is the dominant combat aircraft in both fleets with over 250 in Russia's and 70 in Ukraine's. It was developed by the USSR in an attempt to compete with the Western warplanes and soon became one of the most important pieces of Soviet war equipment. It underwent numerous developments in order to extend its range and to receive the multi-role attribute. The MiG-29 was designed as a lightweight fighter, and won the possibility to perform at very high-angles of attack. Furthermore, the MiG-29 was one of the first Soviet aircrafts to use lightweight aluminium-lithium alloys in order to reduce weight. The first prototypes flew in 1977, while the main production began in 1983. It was known to NATO as “Fulcrum A”. (Check for more details in Tab. 2) [3]

Type
Air defence fighter with secondary ground-attack capability
Dimensions
Length: 17.32m

Wingspan: 11.36m

Height: 4.73m
Weight
18.500kg maximum take-off
Powerplant
2 x Klimov RD-33 afterburning turbofan engines (81.58kN)
Wing loading
403kg/m^2
Maximum speed
2400km/h at high altitude
Range
1430km
Service ceiling
18.500m
Armament
1 x 30mm cannon and up to 400kg of disposable underwing stores

[Tab. 2]

The Sukhoi Su-27 "Flanker" represents as well a big part of the both fleets. Planned as a Soviet direct competitor to the F-15 Eagle and an air superiority fighter, its target was to possess heavy armament and sophisticated sensors but also to be able to travel very long ranges. In May 1977 when the first prototype (T-10) flew received the NATO reporting name “Flanker-A”. Although, due to numerous problems regarding the stability and safeness, the model received a whole new rework in 1981. After the collapse of the USSR, an export of the model was begun. The biggest client was China who received around 80 Russian-built Su-27s. A few years later the Chinese designed their own model (J-11), whose airframe is based on the Soviet aircraft. (Check for more details in Tab. 3) [4]

Type
Multirole and air superiority fighter
Dimensions
Length: 21.90m

Wingspan: 14.70m

Height: 5.93m
Weight
33.000kg maximum take-off
Powerplant
2 x Saturn AL-31F afterburning turbofan engines (122.6kN)
Wing loading
444.61kg/m^2
Maximum speed
2280km/h
Range
3680km at high altitude
Service ceiling
17.700m
Armament
1 x 30mm cannon and up to 6000kg of disposable stores

6 x medium-range AAMs

4 x short-range AAMs

[Tab. 3]

Which one is better?

It is clear that the two aircrafts are incomparable due to their difference in class (light and heavy) but also due to the different design philosophies. Mikoyan put more emphasis on quantity, while Sukhoi, a more extravagant aircraft designer, appreciated more the idea of quality. Even though the Soviets were not agreeing with the idea of producing models based on quality, they understood that in order to compete with the West, the aircraft industry needed a different approach. The Su-27 was one of the first Soviet aircrafts that was made without focusing on the final price. Although, the whole process itself was by Western standards cost efficient. The 2 prototypes have new updated versions (Mig-35 and Sukhoi Su-35) and continue to represent the main military aircrafts in the east.

Is the Soviet model comparable to the Western one?

The McDonnel Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American all-weather strike/attack aircraft. It is now under responsibility of Boeing, which took over the previous company. Its first flight was in July 1972 and it quickly became the best air superiority fighter with over 100 victories and no losses in combat. The “Eagle” has been designed in such a way that it could offer air superiority or air-to-ground missions. The flexibility that the first prototype proved made the engineers develop an all-weather strike derivative. The Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle was born in 1986 representing the second generation of F-15s. (Check for more details in Tab.4) [5]

Type
All-weather strike/attack aircraft
Dimensions
Length: 19.45m

Wingspan: 13.05m

Height: 5.65m
Weight
36.700kg maximum take-off
Powerplant
2 x Pratt Whitney F-100-PW-220 afterburning turbofan engines (105.7kN)
Wing loading
357kg/m^2
Maximum speed
2655km/h at high altitude
Range
5600km
Service ceiling
18.290m
Armament
1 x 20mm rotary cannon and up to 11.000kg of external ordnance
[Tab.4]

So, who wins?

The F-15 is faster and has a wider combat radius. Both aircrafts can be refuelled in flight and pull up to 9Gs. Although the Sukhoi Su-27 is an exceptionally manoeuvrable machine, one of the most agile aircraft ever built (proof is a manoeuvre of briefly sustained level flight at a 120° angle of attack called the “Pugachev’s Cobra”) in our days, the plane’s electronics are of a great importance. The “Eagle” has a radar that locates targets up to 160km away and also a very powerful jammer that prevents the aircraft being easily located [6]. On the other side, the “Flanker” is capable of tracking bomber-sized targets at 140km but for an aircraft like the F-15 the range is only 100km. Furthermore, it does not possess any jammers. [7]

The two cold era war aircrafts are both successful models but taking into consideration the combat records, the F-15 wins. The Su-27 has seen less combat while the Western machine has shot down over 100 enemy planes with no losses.

Conclusion

Military equipment such as the aircrafts discussed in this article have improved enormously throughout a century of warfare. There have been numerous design philosophies in order to provide the actual performances. The two wars encouraged the investments in the development of the military aircrafts. There was a progress from pilots attacking each other with arms from the cockpits to attacking other aircrafts in the air and ground targets. This domain continues to be developed, with new features added every year.

References

[1] Dewan, A. (2022) ‘Ukraine and Russia's militaries are David and Goliath. Here's how they compare’, CNN Available at: edition.cnn.com/2022/02/25/europe/russia-ukraine-military-comparison-intl/index.html

[2] Newdick, T. (2015) Military Aircraft, pp. 78-81. 2nd ed. London: Amber Books

[3] Fandom (2020). ‘Mikoyan MiG-29', Fandom. Available at: military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Mikoyan_MiG-29

[4] Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2017). ‘Sukhoi Su-27', Encyclopedia Britannica. Available at: britannica.com/technology/Sukhoi-Su-27 Images

[5] Boeing (2022) ‘F-15 Eagle Tactical Fighter’, Boeing. Available at: boeing.com/history/products/f-15-eagle.page

[6] GlobalSecurity (2011) ‘AN/APG-63 Radar System’, GlobalSecurity. Available at: globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/systems/an-apg-63.htm

[7] Wikipedia (2022) ‘Mech Radar’, Wikipedia. Available at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mech_radar

Images

[Fig. 1] Bergmann, R. (2015) Yakovlev Yak-9UM. Available at: shorturl.at/jtwz7

[Fig. 2] Sarup, A. (2021) Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29K (9-41) - India – Navy. Available at: shorturl.at/hvY02
 

[Fig. 3] Nowaczyk, M. (2017) Sukhoi Su-27. Available at: shorturl.at/amqX3

[Fig. 4] Taniguchi, H. (2019) McDonnell Douglas (Mitsubishi) F-15DJ Eagle - Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF). Available at: shorturl.at/xQ035

Tables

[Tab. 1] Weapons and Warfare (2020). Yakovlev Yak 3 Fighter. Available at: weaponsandwarfare.com/2020/07/14/yakovlev-yak-3-fighter/

[Tab. 2] Fandom (2020). ‘Mikoyan MiG-29', Fandom. Available at: military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Mikoyan_MiG-29

[Tab. 3] Hillebrand, N. (2008) ‘Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker’, Milavia. Available at: milavia.net/aircraft/su-27/su-27_specifications.htm

[Tab. 4] Boeing (2022) ‘F-15 Eagle Tactical Fighter’, Boeing. Available at: boeing.com/defense/f-15/#/technical-specifications