- Tell me, Ilyich, what should we do with ourselves, With hearts ready to break to smithereens? We were in battles. Ready for battle again!.. And he frowned and suddenly said: Learn!
The study of the enemy is one of the axioms of the art of war. For half a century of cold confrontation, the military of the USSR and the USA spent a lot of effort to get the latest samples of enemy weapons for "close acquaintance" and develop adequate measures to counter these systems. Particularly close attention was paid to aviation: as the most complex, high-tech and most dangerous type of military equipment.
The first part of the article ("Alien Among Friends") is a story about the adventures of Western aircraft in the Soviet Union. What foreign planes have visited the secret air force test centers? What are the consequences of getting to know these machines?
The story of the three B-29 Stratofortress that found new life in the form of Tu-4 strategic bombers does not quite fit into the format of this article. The conversation is about a more modern period, when jet aircraft were already flying in the sky.
It is reliably known about two foreign-made combat aircraft that were tested at the Air Force Flight Research Institute near Akhtubinsk in 1976. F-5E Tiger-II fighter and Cessna A-37B Dragonfly light attack / close-fire support aircraft.
Both captured aircraft from the South Vietnamese Air Force were captured at airfields while the enemy was fleeing and immediately transported to the Soviet Union. Of greatest interest was the F-5 "Freedom Fighter" ("freedom fighter"). Our specialists got its modernized version - "Tiger-II".
In short, what was the F-5? The Americans created "Freedom Fighter" as an export fighter to arm their unlucky "allies", as well as other "third world" countries who would like to purchase such a machine. Simple and cheap weapon for brutal colonial battles.
However, acquaintance with the "colonial fighter" brought a lot of surprise to Soviet pilots and aviation engineers.
… I knew that every company has its own "zest" in its products. Compared to serial domestic fighters, the Tiger had pedal brakes, which we used only on heavy vehicles. The cockpit was not clogged with switches and petrol stations (circuit breaker) unnecessary in flight. All of them are in one "store" on a horizontal console, outside the working area. The F-5 is far from the most modern model and is inferior in its characteristics to the MiG-21.
However, I liked the cockpit layout and the excellent visibility from it. A high-quality dashboard, enlightened glass devices did not give glare in any light, and the small AN / ASQ-29 collimator sight was about 2 times more compact than domestic counterparts.
- from the memoirs of the Honored Test Pilot of the USSR, Hero of the Soviet Union, Colonel Vladimir Kandaurov
But the main "surprise" was ahead. All 18 training battles with the MiG-21 ended in favor of the little "American". Without understanding anything, the pilots changed cars, but over and over again the same result followed. In theory, the MiG-21 had an undeniable advantage in speed (2 M versus 1.6 M), thrust-to-weight ratio and climb rate (225 m / s versus 175 m / s), but the devil was in the details. Developed nodules in the wing roots, original "shark nose" with vortex generators, lower wing loading and slotted flaps. As a result, the F-5 could conduct a maneuverable air battle at angles of attack inaccessible to our fighters.
A modern MiG-23M was called in to help. He conditionally "shot" the "Tiger" with medium-range missiles, but in close combat he was immediately "shot down" by a small agile enemy.
The conclusion from this whole story was unpleasant, but at the same time reassuring. Behind the modest appearance of the "colonial fighter" was a real beast. A strong, well-designed and well-assembled "Pelelats", superior in maneuverability to any fighter in the world. On the other hand, there were practically no fighters of this type in service with the main "potential enemy" - the US Air Force. The Yankees underestimated light, maneuverable vehicles, relying on long-range missile battles and heavy Phantoms.
F-4 Phantom II and F-5E Tiger. The weight and dimensions of the machines are well felt
A lot of interesting discoveries were presented by acquaintance with another trophy - A-37B Dragonfly.
At first, the unsightly car half a human height did not cause any kind emotions. Subsonic speed, six-barreled machine gun and napalm tanks. Flying "curiosity" for the war with the Papuans!
However, upon closer inspection, the Dragonflay's design revealed an amazing element - armor! Fully armored cockpit that protected the crew from shrapnel and small arms bullets. (It is worth noting here that the cause of 3/4 of all combat losses of the US Air Force in Vietnam, as well as the aviation of the 40th Army in the mountains of Afghanistan, were the usual Berdanks, Kalashnikovs and DShKs of the natives).
Many interesting things were found inside the "Dragonfly". Fire-fighting tank filler based on polyurethane foam with a cellular structure. A "multi-kilogram cabinet" of a 20-channel VHF radio station, which in fact turned out to be a small block that fits in the palm of your hand. A well-thought-out design of the aircraft: simple and reliable clamps, a method of connecting wires by "crimping" and thousands of similar "finds" recommended for implementation in domestic aviation.
After a series of flight tests, Dragonfly took the Sukhoi Design Bureau, where it was decided to initiate work on the creation of a similar machine (the "T-8 product", which later became the legendary Su-25 attack aircraft).
UFO encounter
The well-known "urban legend" about the flight to the USSR of the high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft SR-71 "Blackbird" has quite real grounds.
An "unidentified flying object" was found where it should be. In the Soviet "Zone-51" - in the area of the Tyura-Tam test site (Baikonur). Already at first glance, it became clear that the find is something completely unusual and mystical. "Black cat" - this is how our specialists called the UFO.
What is it? Where did it come from?
In the middle of the Kazakh steppe lay the Lockheed D-21 stealth drone - a supersonic drone equipped with a panoramic camera with a coordinate referencing function. Titanium case. Direct-flow air-jet engine. Techniques for reducing visibility. Aerodynamic and layout excellence. Cruising flight speed - 3.6 M. Ceiling - 30 kilometers.
Ultra-fast high-altitude robots were used in the interests of the CIA to conduct strategic reconnaissance. The flight took place according to the following scenario: the UAV was separated from the carrier (M-21 or B-52) and then accelerated with a solid-propellant booster to a speed of 3000 km / h, when its marching ramjet engine was turned on. The drone invaded enemy airspace, carried out aerial photography along the selected route, on the way back, shot a container with film over the sea and threw itself into the waves. The container descending by parachute picked up the JC-130 search aircraft already in the air. The work is done, there are no traces.
On November 9, 1969, after filming the Chinese nuclear test site Log-Nor, the D-21B drone refused to take a return course and continued flying northwestward. After running out of fuel, the secret car made a hard landing in the steppes of Kazakhstan.
The D-21 UAV is seen behind the carrier (M-21 - based on the A-12 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft).
The wounded design pride did not give rest to our specialists. On the table A. N. Tupolev was immediately given a note "The level of development of the domestic industry makes it possible to reproduce an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft with similar flight characteristics." This is how the Raven project was born - even more "cool" than that of the Americans, a drone for conducting optical and electronic reconnaissance over any area of the planet.
Other aircraft
In addition to the above rarities, many fragments of foreign aircraft have visited the Soviet Union. Somewhere in the premises of the MAI lies a flashlight from the F-111 Aadvark. A number of military museums contain the wreckage of the U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft shot down over Sverdlovsk in 1960. The Vietnam War became a real treasure trove of artifacts. Domestic experts were able to familiarize themselves with the full range of aviation weapons of the US Air Force and Navy: from funny "trinkets" in the form of fragments of Phantoms wings to secret samples such as the latest inertial navigation systems and unexploded bombs with laser guidance heads.
The last high-profile success was the destruction of the F-117 over Belgrade in 1999. After the end of the war, Russian specialists got full access to the wreckage of the top-secret "invisible".
The author with such calmness describes the facts of a scrupulous study of American aircraft, followed by methods of industrial espionage and copying of the most interesting systems in the interests of the Russian Air Force, since he knows that a generally similar situation was observed overseas. The Yankees, with no less passion, "poked" in the domestic "Miles" and "Migahs" and continue to do so to this day. Moreover, they do not hesitate to use Russian aircraft even in the combat units of their Air Force!
However, this is already a topic for the next article.
This is what a captured F-22 would look like in the color of the Russian Air Force.
