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MIKOYAN MIG-21: RUSSIA'S BESTSELLER

In the 1950s the events in fighter design went ahead at full speed: More and more prototypes with improved flight performance left the experimental shops in the USA, Great Britain and France. The story was the same in the Soviet Union. The Design Office (OKB) run by Artyom Iwanowich Mikoyan and Michail Yosipowich Gurewitch had secured the top position with their MiG-15, MiG-17 and MiG-19.

In the autumn of 1953, following experience gathered in the Korean War, the Kremlin demanded the development of a new generation of aircraft with speeds of up to Mach 2 and service ceilings of 20,000 meters. They were to be used as agile fighters for the so-called Front Air Force. Naturally MiG engineers set to work straight away. They were supported just like their competitors through basic research programs coducted by TsAGI (Zentralni Aero-Gidrodinamitscheski Institut).

The extensive wind tunnel trials resulted in two promising configurations: An extremely swept-back trapeze shaped wing (55 degrees), and a delta wing (57 degrees swept back at the leading edge), the latter combined with a horizontal tail as well.

It was decided to test both ideas not only at the model stage but also in the air. This is why the MiG OKB started an extensive prototype program in which it was attempted to design the fuselage as identical as possible. It consisted of a tube with a diameter that was only just big enough to house the Mikulin-AM-9-jet engine.

The first completed prototype was the E-2 with swept-back wings, in which Georgi K. Mosolov took off for the first time on 4th February 1955. The E-4 followed on 16th June with "Balalaika" wings. Unfortunately the performance of the E-4 and especially the speed were disappointing. However, the problem was solved with the next prototype, the E-5. It received a more powerful AM-11 engine and an altered tail, which reduced drag considerably. The maiden flight took place in January 1956 with Nefyodov, who was very enthusiastic about the aircraft's flight characteristics.

Towards the end of that year it was decided to develop the series version of the MiG-21, as it was now called. It was decided to keep the delta wing. Under the name of E-6 some more prototypes were built. Production finally started in mid 1959 in Gorky.

This is how a production program started which put all other jet fighters into the shade. If the approximately 2,400 copies, that were built in China under license, are included, there must have been about 13,400 MiG-21, that left the factories in Gorky (Nischni-Nowogorod), Moscow, Tbilisi, Vodochody (Tschechia) and Nasik (India). This is more than tiwce the number of the McDonnell F-4 Phantom II.

The enormous success of the MiG-21 is surprising if one takes into account that the plane offered only a limited range because of its size. The possibility to arm it was also minimal: initially two canons with only a few rounds of ammunition, then two rockets with infrared seekers. In the beginning, the sensor equipment consisting of distance measuring radar was also simple.

True to the Russian philosophy to constantly develop a basic plane, new variations of the "Fishbed" (NATO code name) came into existence during the years. One decisive step forward was the E-7 with a bigger nose. This enabled the installation of a bigger central cone with room for a radar system of the Safir family. The series version MiG-21PF was being built in big quantities from the beginning of 1962 in Gorky and Moscow. It was not only intended for the Russian Air Force, but also for export.

A further important alteration was the introduction of the blown landing flaps. Air from the R-11FS-300's compressor is being sucked into slots behind the wing's spar. The maximum lift is thus increased considerably which results in shorter landing distances.

MiG engineers have tried time and time again to squeeze more fuel into the small airframe. This is why the dorsal spine on the fuselage has become increasingly bulky. In order to improve longitudinal stability the tail has been widened more and more. The result is that it now has an area of five square meters. Continuous alterations to some equipment like the autopilot, performance enhanced radar systems and IFF systems were less obvious.

The MiG-21 was subjected to the last fundamental changes at the beginning of the 1970s, when the airframe, which had been modified many times, was optimised again. Another 2,000 of the resulting MiG-21bis were produced in Gorky, and in India this version was still being built until 1987.

By this time the "Fishbed" was well and truly outdated. All the same it is still being used in great numbers by many Air Forces all over the world. Apart from this, China is still offering its J-7 variations. In fact there does not seem to be an end to this classic aircraft. On the contrary, the design bureau, companies like Israel Aircraft Industries and Elta have been offering extensive modernisation programs.

The effectiveness of the MiG-21 can be improved considerably by installing a new radar system, a state of the art cockpit and guided weapons like the AA-11 (targeting via a helmet mounted sight). And an upgrade is definitely cheaper than buying new fighters. After all many MiG-21 users are among the world's poorest countries.

From page 46 of FLUG REVUE 11/98