There is much in common between these two aircraft, both of them appeared at the height of the Cold War, becoming part of the national air defense system for many years. At the same time, for a number of reasons, they failed to displace other aircraft used as fighter-interceptors in this field. The aircraft were based on earlier designs. The "ancestor" of the F-106 was the Convair F-102 Delta Dagger interceptor.
F-102 Delta Dagger
The Su-15 traces its lineage to the earlier interceptors: the Su-9 and Su-11.
Fighter-interceptor Su-9
The careers of these aircraft ended almost simultaneously, at the turn of the 80s and 90s, when they were supplanted by the 4th generation aircraft, F-15 and Su-27P.
The F-106 Delta Dart is a single-seat, single-engine, supersonic fighter-interceptor with a deltoid wing. Created as a modification of the F-102A Delta Dagger, the aircraft was originally designated -F-102B. The creation of the F-102B interceptor was presented as an upgrade, but the number of changes made to the design grew rapidly. In fact, the fuselage, keel, landing gear were redesigned. The air intakes were made adjustable and the air passages were shortened to reduce pressure losses. The cockpit has undergone significant changes. The F-102B inherited the wing from the "two", but it was also modified during serial production.
In the course of the work, it became obvious to the military that the presented machine is not just a modification of the "two", but practically a new aircraft. Therefore, on June 17, 1956, the aircraft received a "proper name" - F-106. The customer put forward a requirement to equip the interceptor with an MA-1 fire control system with the first in the United States onboard digital computer, to make it compatible with the Sage semi-automatic air defense system, to ensure that a practical ceiling of 21,500 m is achieved, a flight speed of at least 2M at an altitude of 11,000 m, and a range of 700 km.
The first F-106 (Ser. No. 56-0451) was ready for flight tests at the end of 1956. On December 26, at Edwards AFB, Chief Pilot Richard L. Johnson, instead of celebrating Christmas, lifted a new aircraft into the air. A total of 12 vehicles, designated JF-106A, participated in the test program based on Edward. Despite the fact that the aircraft were powered by more powerful J75-P-9 engines, the flight results did not please either the developers or the military, not much exceeding the characteristics of the F-102. The maximum speed of the interceptor did not exceed 1.9M, and the ceiling was 17300 m.
The unavailability of the fire control system, on which the main stake was made, a crude engine, a shortage of basic characteristics - all this affected the number of ordered vehicles. As a result, instead of 40 squadrons, the F-106 Delta Dart decided to re-equip 14. As a result, only 260 remained of the 1000 new interceptors originally planned for construction. During serial production, the order was slightly increased, and as a result, 277 single-seat F-106A were built.
F-106A
The serial F-106 Delta Dart featured redesigned air intakes with a thinner leading edge, redesigned air ducts, which, together with the more powerful and reliable J75-P-17 engine, allowed achieving performance characteristics that met the customer's requirements. Now the officially declared speed was 2.311M, and it was believed that the aircraft could fly with 2.5M. During the establishment of the world record on December 15, 1959 (pilot Joseph W. Rogers), the plane showed a speed of 2455 km / h. Beating the achievement of G. K. Mosolov on the Mikoyan E-66 (2388 km / h) In May 1959, the F-106 Delta Dart began to enter service with the Air Force. The first to receive new aircraft was the 498th Squadron, based in Geeger, Washington.
In the first months of operation, a number of serious problems were identified, such as generator failures, unsatisfactory operation of turbo starters, etc. In December 1959, the cockpit canopy spontaneously dropped in the air, after which the flights of all machines were suspended.
The order for the construction of two-seater cars was received by the Konver company on August 3, 1956. Initially, the aircraft was conceived as a purely training aircraft, so it was assigned the designation TF-102B, later changed to TF-106A. But in the course of the work, the Air Force clarified that it should be a full-fledged combat vehicle, with a full arsenal of weapons, and ultimately the "spark" became known as the F-106B.
F-106V
The fuselage length of the "twin" remained the same as that of the original F-106 Delta Dart, and the second cockpit was placed due to the rearrangement of some components of the onboard equipment and a decrease in the volume of the fuselage fuel tank. "Sparka" was equipped with an AN / ASQ-25 weapons control system, almost identical to the MA-1.
The F-106B first flew on April 9, 1958. A total of 63 "Sparks" were built, and the total number of "Darts" issued reached 340. F-106Bs began to be delivered to the troops in February 1959.
In September 1960, a program began to bring all previously built aircraft to the standard of the latest series. During the year of improvements, the factory brigades made 67 changes to the design and 63 to the weapon control system. In addition to improving the existing systems, the complex of improvements included the installation of an IR station in the bow of the interceptor, capable of operating at low altitudes and against the background of the earth. In addition, the aircraft received a brake hook to prevent roll-out from the runway in the event of an emergency landing. The cockpit was equipped with a light and heat shield in case of the use of the NAR "Gini" with a nuclear warhead. The avionics arsenal was supplemented by a jamming station and a radar receiver, and the noise immunity of the MA-1 radar system was seriously improved.
In 1965, the F-106 Delta Dart received a new radio navigation system TACAN, the weight and overall dimensions of the units of which were 2/3 less in comparison with the old ones. In 1967, the fighters were equipped with an air refueling system and new outboard fuel tanks with a capacity of 1360 liters. Unlike the previously used ones, the new PTBs were designed to operate in the entire range of altitudes and flight speeds, so they were dropped extremely rarely. The behavior of the aircraft with the new tanks remained practically unchanged.
The experience of the Vietnam War showed that relying only on missile armament turned out to be only a theory. To effectively use the F-106 Delta Dart in close combat, it was required to equip it with a cannon, and in the late 1960s this was done at the initiative of the developer. Instead of the completely useless NAR "Gini", the F-106 was equipped with a six-barreled 20-mm M61 "Vulcan" cannon with 650 rounds of ammunition. Its barrels went beyond the fuselage contours and were covered with a fairing, and the drum with cartridges occupied part of the rocket compartment, while the possibility of using four Falcon missiles remained. For the use of the cannon, the aircraft was equipped with an optical sight. In addition, the F-106 Delta Dart received a new flap with improved visibility (without the center bar), and instead of the "classic" instruments with dial scales, tape-type indicators were installed.
Low specific wing loading and high thrust-to-weight ratio allowed pilots to gain victories in training battles over other American aircraft of those years. The F-106 proved its exceptional ability in imitation of "enemy" planes with triangular wings (obviously, primarily the MiG-21).
The skirmishes between the F-106 and the F-4 Phantom demonstrated clear superiority in maneuverability of the former. True, the pilots noted that the Phantom had a more reliable radar and better missile weapons (Sidewinder and Sparrow missiles).
There were, of course, this aircraft and disadvantages. Basically, they were expressed in difficulties during landing - high speed, long run. The pilots also noted the small dimensions of the wheels for such a vehicle mass and landing speed. As one pilot confessed, "if your tire burst, the chance of crashing was very great." The landing angle of 15 was also close to the critical value - at 17 the plane was striking the tail section against the concrete.
At high supersonic speeds, the aircraft became unstable in the direction of travel, which sometimes led to a flat spin. Therefore, in operation, the flight speed was limited to 2M.
During operation, the originally assigned airframe resource of 4000 hours was doubled. This confirms the reliability of the aircraft's design and, indirectly, the high flying time of American fighter pilots.
Accident statistics is as follows: for 29 years of operation, out of 340 cars, 112 were lost in accidents and disasters, including 17 "twin" cars. Almost a third of all F-106s built! In percentage terms, this figure is worse than that of the previous F-102. For comparison: the loss of the British "Lightning" was 32%, and the F-104, which earned itself ill fame, was 27.5%.
Unlike the F-102, the Delta Dart mainly guarded US and Canadian airspace. Outside North America, they were permanently based only in Iceland and only occasionally broke out for short visits to US bases in Germany. In addition, in February 1968, during the incident with the Pueblo reconnaissance vessel off the coast of the DPRK, fighters of the 318th squadron were briefly deployed at Osan airbase in South Korea.
During the Vietnam War, the Americans considered the possibility of using the "Delta Dart" in Indochina and even began developing a camouflage scheme. However, given the low efficiency of the use of "twos" in Vietnam, as well as the significant cost of the F-106, there was no place for him in that conflict. But the interceptors were at the forefront of the Cold War, constantly accompanying Soviet bombers.
The aircraft had a short reaction time when on alert. It took only 2 minutes 45 seconds from the "Alarm" signal to take off. The duration of the interception and target tracking was usually 100-120 minutes.
LTH F-106 Delta Dart:
Wingspan, m 11, 67
Length, m 21, 56
Height, m 6, 18
Wing area, m2 64, 8
Weight, kg
empty plane 10730
normal takeoff 16100
maximum takeoff 17350
Engine 1 turbojet engine Pratt & Whitney J57-P-17
Thrust, kgf 1 x 11130
Maximum flight speed, km / h 2450 (M = 2.31)
Cruising speed, km / h 980
Practical ceiling, m 17400
Maximum range, km 4350
Practical range, km 920
Practical ceiling, m 17400
Crew, people 1
Armament: 1x 20 mm M61 Vulcan cannon, 4 AIM-4 "Falcon" air-to-air missiles, 2 AIR-2A "Genie" unguided missiles with a nuclear warhead (until 1985)
Beginning in 1981, the Delta Dart gradually began to be phased out of service by fighter squadrons, replacing the more advanced F-15 and F-16, and transferred to the National Guard.
The last unit, the 119th Fighter Squadron, said goodbye to the F-106 on July 7, 1988, sending the remaining 3 aircraft to the storage base in Davis Montan, where all F-106s have been transferred since 1982. The outgoing F-106s were converted into QF-106A unmanned targets.
QF-106A based on Davis Montan storage
The first flight of the converted "drone" took place in July 1987. Until the end of 1994, 181 aircraft were converted into targets. New targets have replaced the more "ancient" QF-100 "Super Saber".
Several aircraft continued to be used in various NASA projects, including two QF-106s. These machines, both in unmanned and manned versions, were involved in the Eclipse project - the development of reusable payload launch vehicles. In the course of the experiments, the unmanned aircraft was towed on a long cable by the NC-141A towing vehicle, then uncoupled and performed an independent landing. It was assumed that in this way the Astroliner spacecraft would rise into the air, which, having detached from the Boeing 747 towing vehicle, would start the engines and “rush to the stars”. The experiments were carried out from December 20, 1997 to February 6, 1998, after which the QF-106 was returned to Davis Montan.
As you know, in the second half of the 1950s, hard times came for Soviet aviation due to the addiction of the country's leadership to missiles (anti-aircraft missiles, in particular). Both the military and the designers were urged to revise the air force and air defense rearmament programs. Depression reigned in the aviation industry, the prospects for combat manned aviation were seen in black. In 1958, the State Committee for Aviation Engineering (GKAT) removed 24 topics on aircraft and 12 on engines from development, and the next year - another 21 and 9, respectively.
At the same time, new strike aircraft systems appeared in the West, forcing the Soviet military to develop countermeasures. In particular, air defense fighters with large interception lines were required, capable of attacking targets in the front hemisphere. Given the sympathies of the country's political leadership, it was almost impossible to raise the issue of creating any new aircraft, it could only be about modernizing existing machines. At the same time, with regard to the interceptor, one should have sworn an oath that it would only carry air-to-air missiles, and its flight would become automated from takeoff to landing.
In such a situation, in March 1960, OKB-51 headed by P. O. Sukhim began work on the creation of an aircraft that received the factory code T-58. The new theme was designed as a further modernization of the T-3-8M (Su-11) complex. It was planned to equip the aircraft with radar with long range and viewing angles, as well as missiles with higher performance.
Due to its large size, the new radar could not be squeezed into the nose of the Su-11, equipped with an axisymmetric air intake. Under the station it was required to allocate the entire nose of the aircraft, therefore, to go to the side air intakes. As a result, the new interceptor took on the classic look of a 2nd generation jet.
Externally, the T-58 was significantly different from its predecessors. The Orel-D radar antenna, which had a large diameter, could not be placed in the air intake cone, so the nose was completely occupied by it. The air intakes, shifted back, became side. The power plant of the aircraft included two turbojet engines Р11-Ф2С-300 developed by the design bureau of S. K. Tumansky, with a thrust in afterburner mode of 6200 kgf each. (on the last series, P13-300 were used - 6600 kgf each.) In addition to the engines, the fuselage housed: a pressurized cabin with a canopy, fuel tanks-compartments and other equipment. In the tail section, four brake flaps were installed. The triangular wing in plan had a sweep angle of 60 degrees. along the leading edge.
After the completion of state tests, the aircraft was put into service in April 1965 as part of the ARKP Su-15-98. The complex was designed to intercept air targets with a speed range of 500-3000 km / h and altitudes of 500-23000 m. The interceptor was withdrawn to the meeting area with a target and before it was detected by an airborne radar using a ground-based automated guidance system. Target interception, aiming and missile guidance from the RGS was carried out by the radar. Rockets with TGS had a different guidance principle - infrared (thermal) radiation, which they perceived, came directly from the target.
To reduce inductive drag and improve takeoff and landing characteristics, the wing design has undergone changes since the 11th series of the aircraft: the area was increased to 36.6 m2, and the leading edge of the end part received a break of 45g. and aerodynamic twist. The tail unit has a sweep angle of 55 degrees. along the 1/4 chord line, included an all-turning stabilizer and a keel with a rudder.
The aircraft was controlled with the help of boosters, included in an irreversible scheme. Four autonomous hydraulic systems ensured the retraction and release of the landing gear, flaps, brake flaps, control of the air intakes and flaps of the jet nozzles of the engines, power supply of the radar antenna drive. The aircraft was also equipped with three autonomous pneumatic systems. The pneumatic systems were intended for the main and emergency braking of the wheels, emergency release of the landing gear and flaps, pressurizing the hydraulic tank, etc.
The total capacity of the fuel system with PTB is 8060 liters. The necessary conditions for the pilot's work in the cockpit, as well as airflow and pressurization of radio equipment units, were provided by an air conditioning system. To escape the aircraft in emergency situations, the cockpit was equipped with a KS-4 ejection seat, which ensured the rescue of the crew on the takeoff run and run at a speed of at least 140 km / h, and in flight - at altitudes up to 20,000 m and indicated speeds up to 1200 km / h.
The electronic equipment included equipment: radio communication (radio station R-802), radio navigation (automatic radio compass ARK-10, marker radio receiver MRP-56), identification (SOD-57, SRZO-2M), guidance (Lazur) and radar (Orel-D or Orel-DM). The armament consisted of: two UR R-8M or R-98 class with RGS and TGS, under the wing on launchers PU 1-8.
Rocket R-98
Since 1973, all aircraft in service and all newly produced ones were equipped with two PD-62 pylons for two R-60 missiles with TGS. After the revision of the BDZ-59FK ventral pylons, it became possible to suspend two UPK-23-250 unified cannon containers on them.
Each container included a GSh-23L twin-barreled fixed 23-mm cannon developed by the OKB V. P. Gryazev and A. G. Shipunov. The rate of fire is 3000-3400 rounds per minute, the ammunition load is 250 rounds.
In 1969, state tests of the modernized Su-15T interceptor with R13-300 engines began. It differed from its predecessor by a more advanced radar, more precisely, a radio control system, an expanded set of equipment (installed: a short-range navigation radio system RSBN-5S, a warning station for radar irradiation - SPO-10 and an automatic control system SAU-58), a reduced number of hydraulic systems to three …
Su-15UT. At the end of the 60s, on the basis of the Su-15 interceptor, the Su-15UT was created and launched into serial production - a two-seater training aircraft without radar and weapons.
In the process of state tests in the ARKP Su-15-98 system, significant shortcomings were revealed. It was modified and installed on the interceptor, designated Su-15TM. Launched into serial production in the early 70s, the Su-15TM interceptor for many years remained one of the main fighters of the country's air defense aviation. ARKP Su-15-98M, which included the aircraft, together with a ground guidance complex in manual, semi-automatic (director) and automatic modes, provided the interception of air targets with a speed range of 500-2500 km / h and altitudes of 500-24000 m.
In the late 60s and early 70s, the Su-15 interceptors, together with the Su-9 and Su-11, formed the basis of the aviation of the USSR Air Defense Forces, being the most massive modern interception systems. By the middle of the Su-15, 29 fighter aviation regiments were in service, which accounted for more than a third (!) Of combat air units of the air defense forces.
LTH:
Modification of the Su-15TM
Wingspan, m 9.43
Aircraft length, m 22.03
Aircraft height, m 4.84
Wing area, m2 36.60
Weight, kg
empty plane 10760
normal takeoff 17200
maximum takeoff 17900
Engine type 2 TRDF R-13-300
Maximum thrust, kN 2x 65, 70
Maximum speed, km / h:
near the ground 1400
at an altitude of 12000 m 2230
Ferry range, km 1700
Practical range, km 1380
Combat radius of action, km 725
Practical ceiling, m: 18100
Maximum operating overload 6.5
Crew, people 1
Armament:
Combat load - 1500 kg at 6 hardpoints:
Two medium-range air-to-air missiles with semi-active radar and infrared guidance systems R-98 (up to 20 km) and two melee missiles R-60 with infrared guidance systems. Instead of PTB, two UPK-23-250 containers with GSh-23L cannons (23 mm, 250 rounds) can be suspended. Suspension of two FAB-250 bombs or up to 2 UB-16-57 blocks with S-5 type NAR is allowed
or two large-caliber NARs of the C-24 type.
During the serial production of the Su-15TM, its equipment and armament have been repeatedly modified and modernized. The R-98 missiles were used on the aircraft of the first series, later they were replaced by the R-98M.
The radome radome was replaced with an ogival radome. This made it possible to eliminate the interference on the radar screen arising from the false reflection of the signal from the inner surface of the conical fairing.
This aviation complex was repeatedly used to suppress violations of the state border of the USSR. So, on April 20, 1978, a plane of the South Korean airline KAL, flying from Paris to Anchorage (Canada), having evaded many hundreds of kilometers from the route, crossed the border of the USSR in the Murmansk region. The intruder was intercepted by a Su-15TM fighter, did not react to the set signals to follow him and continued flying, moreover, he increased his speed and, with a decrease, returned to the border with Finland. Then weapons were used. The damaged Boeing-707 made an emergency landing on the ice of a frozen lake near the town of Kem. Of the 108 passengers, 2 people were killed.
It would seem that the airline KAL should take measures to exclude similar ones, but after five and a half years everything happened again. On the night of September 1, 1983, en route from Anchorage to Seoul, violated the state border in the Kamchatka Peninsula and traveled over the territory of the USSR for about two and a half hours. The crew did not react to signals from fighter-interceptors.
At the command of the control center, the pilot Osipovich, who was piloting the Su-15TM, used a weapon (by this time the airliner had deviated from the route by about 660 kilometers), after which the plane fell into the sea. 269 people died.
On July 18, 1981, the CL-44 aircraft of the Argentine airline “Transportes Aereo Rioplatense” was flying from Tel Aviv to Tehran, carrying weapons for Iran. Apparently, he inadvertently invaded Soviet airspace from Armenia. Captain V. A. Kulyapin was raised to intercept. on SU-15TM. Accompanying the intruder, he gave signs to the intruder to follow him according to the international code. But he, without any reaction, continued to fly towards the border. There was no time left for an attack with R-98 missiles, and Kulyapin rammed the intruder with the fuselage into the stabilizer. CL-44 went into a tailspin and fell, 4 crew members were killed. The Su-15 pilot ejected and survived. Later he was awarded the Order of the Battle Red Banner. This was the second and last ram in the history of jet aircraft.
After the collapse of the USSR, aircraft of this type were at the disposal of several "sovereign republics". The aircraft of the Su-15 (Su-15TM) type were in service with the Air Defense Forces and the Air Force of the USSR until 1991; as part of the armed forces of the Russian Federation - until 1994, and in Ukraine - until 1996 inclusive. The last combat unit to be armed with Su-15 aircraft was the aviation regiment of the Ukrainian armed forces, based at the Belbek airfield in the Crimea.
