Most Underestimated Aircraft of all time.

The Mig-31 FireFox

Designation: MiG-31
NATO Codename: Firefox
Nation of Origin: USSR
Manufacturer: Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau
Type: High Speed Interceptor (Prototype)
Year: 1982
Number of Aircraft Produced: 2
Powerplant: 2 Tumansky RJ-15BD-600 high-bypass afterburning turbojets producing 50,000 lbs. thrust each
Span: 46 ft 3 in
Length: 63 ft 1 in
Height: 16 ft 9 in
Empty Weight: 54,117 lbs
Loaded Weight: 81,725 lbs
Max Speed: 3,568 mph (Mach 5+)
Max Ceiling: 120,500 ft
Range: 3,000 miles
Crew: 1
Armament: Six AA-11 AAM's, or six R-23R or R-60 missiles, two 23mm internally mounted cannons and 4 rearward defense pods containing chaff / flare dispensers.

It must be awkward turning a plane that essentially is a bunch of loose plates, into an effective combat plane...odd indeed.

Kinda like our High altitude super sonic bomber, didn't work out too well.

I also doubt the legitimacy of this air-craft...where'd you discover it?

Sincerely,
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The 1982 movie "Firefox" With Clint Eastwood and the novels by Craig THomas.

But who said it could not work

Hollywood.


www.amazon.com...

I don't really think it could work, look at the SR-71, it only went what...mock 3? (totally pulled that outta my arse) but still, it had to basically be constructed to ONLY fly at its max speed to be able to fly at the max speed at all...you know...the whole "jointed chasis and stuff"...so heh...sounds like something those crack pot soviets would try to do, that and their retarded barilium maganate (or whatever) nuclear reactors, which consequently overheated and irradiated everything...sad...sad...

sincerely,
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The real MIG-31 Foxhound ( not Firefox )










For technical specifications and more pics, click the link !

Link


[Edited on 3-11-2002 by ultra_phoenix]

The last pic is a MIG-25!

Originally posted by necro99

The last pic is a MIG-25!

Not at all. The mig-31 Foxhound is just a mig-25 Foxbatt modernized. So, he's looking like a mig-25.

I must argue, the Mig-31 Foxhound is a modernised MiG-25, but it has TWO seats, not one, TWO. Someone has yet to show me a one seated MiG-31 (and it will be ma favorite airplane ) and i will beleive them.

Fas.org
Crew : TWO

The Mig-31 tail rudders have two small spike coming out of them, the aircraft in the pic in question, has none.

So i confirm it is a MiG-25 Foxbat, probably a A/E.

Originally posted by necro99
I must argue, the Mig-31 Foxhound is a modernised MiG-25, but it has TWO seats, not one, TWO. Someone has yet to show me a one seated MiG-31 (and it will be ma favorite airplane

) and i will beleive them.

Ok, no problems.



Designation: MiG-31
NATO Codename: Firefox
Nation of Origin: USSR
Manufacturer: Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau
Type: High Speed Interceptor (Prototype)
Year: 1982
Number of Aircraft Produced: 2
Powerplant: 2 Tumansky RJ-15BD-600 high-bypass afterburning turbojets producing 50,000 lbs. thrust each
Span: 46 ft 3 in
Length: 63 ft 1 in
Height: 16 ft 9 in
Empty Weight: 54,117 lbs
Loaded Weight: 81,725 lbs
Max Speed: 3,568 mph (Mach 5+)
Max Ceiling: 120,500 ft
Range: 3,000 miles

CREW : 1

Armament: Six AA-11 AAM's, or six R-23R or R-60 missiles, two 23mm internally mounted cannons and 4 rearward defense pods containing chaff / flare dispensers.

Getting back to the point the MiG-31 is called a foxhound and is a long range interceptor, it does look like the MiG-25 in some regards and it is just a production fighter nothing fancy.

All this effort, money, qualifications and training put into these machines and they dont even see action!. 10-15 years and they end up in the bushes like the ones in the russian air force museum. They only get taken up so many times in a year so they just hang around the bases really dont they?.