Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-31 Foxhound
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 Foxbat had been a bit of a disappointment to the Soviet IA-PVO interceptor force. It had been designed to intercept the XB-70 Valkyrie, a bomber that never went into production, and because of this, the MiG-25 had sacrificed much for its ability to reach Mach 3: manueverability suffered, it lacked range unless flown at subsonic speeds (a major problem in defending the far-flung Soviet Union), and its weight made it difficult to fly at low altitude.
While the Foxbat did have good high-altitude performance, the question in IA-PVO commanders was exactly what the MiG-25 was designed to intercept: the XB-70 had been cancelled, the B-52 was a subsonic bomber, and (at the time) the B-1’s continued existence was in question. As a reconnaissance aircraft, the Foxbat was superb; in combat, the aircraft would be so limited as to only be able to operate as a point-defense interceptor—which could be done just as easily and cheaper by MiG-21s.
Mikoyan-Gurevich began work on a successor, the Ye-155MP. This used the MiG-25P as its basis, but with a longer fuselage to add a second cockpit for the radar operator; the Soviets had noticed the success American fighters such as the F-4 Phantom II and F-14 Tomcat had with a two-man crew, and earlier Soviet interceptors such as the Yak-28 had two-man crews. Because the MiG-25’s weight—it was mostly stainless steel--had so limited its performance, the Ye-155 would use more titanium and aluminum than steel. (It was still heavier than any other interceptor in service: the MiG-31 is ten tons heavier than the Tu-134 airliner.) Some streamlining was also done, and the Tumansky engines of the Foxbat were replaced by more efficient Soloviev D-30 turbofans. Manueverability was still limited compared to other fighters, but the MiG-31 was never meant to be used in a dogfight.
With an emphasis on range rather than necessarily speed—though the design was still capable of Mach 2.8—the new aircraft was better suited for the long-range, high-endurance interception role needed to patrol the long borders of the Soviet Union. As such, it was a brand-new aircraft rather than a variant of the MiG-25, and Mikoyan-Gurevich designated the aircraft as MiG-31. Production began in 1979, but it was not until the early 1980s that the West learned of the MiG-31’s existence, giving it the reporting name of Foxhound.
As the MiG-31’s primary role was interception, that of bombers and especially smaller cruise missiles, the Foxhound had to have a good radar; the MiG-25’s radar was only average, though valued for its ability to burn through enemy jamming through sheer electronic force. The MiG-31 was equipped with the Zaslon S-800 radar, the first Soviet radar capable of look-down, shoot-down interception, with a range of 125 miles and a capability to track ten targets and attack four of them at once. To back the radar up, an infrared sensor was added under the nose, while the fire control computer could be datalinked to five other MiG-31s, allowing a single fighter to coordinate the attack of several others. The R-33 missile was developed specifically for the Foxhound: based on the AIM-54 Phoenix, the R-33 has a maximum range of about 80 miles and, like the Phoenix, was designed to destroy bombers or cruise missiles at extreme range. The R-33 was also designed to home in on the emissions of E-3 AWACS. It was also equipped with a GSh-30-6 gatling cannon, but after losses due to premature detonations of cannon ammunition in 1983, today’s MiG-31s never carry ammunition for the weapon.
The collapse of the Soviet Union led to Foxhound serviceability rates dropping below 20 percent by 1996. A crash program began with the beginning of the Putin regime to get the MiG-31s flying again, and ten years later the rate had jumped to 70 percent. The MiG-31 is undergoing a slow process of modernization, adding HOTAS, multifunction displays, a new Western-style multimode radar, and a limited air-to-ground capability, allowing the MiG-31 to operate in the high-altitude SEAD role performed by the MiG-25. Today, it is the only dedicated interceptor in Russian service, serving alongside the MiG-29 and Su-27.
This was built straight from the 1/144 Revell kit, and painted in IA-PVO air defense gray, with darker grays for the radome and ECM panels. The warload of two drop tanks and two R-40 (AA-6) Acrid missiles is standard, though the missiles probably should be outboard of the drop tanks (in my defense, I was following the kit instructions).
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-31 Foxhound
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 Foxbat had been a bit of a disappointment to the Soviet IA-PVO interceptor force. It had been designed to intercept the XB-70 Valkyrie, a bomber that never went into production, and because of this, the MiG-25 had sacrificed much for its ability to reach Mach 3: manueverability suffered, it lacked range unless flown at subsonic speeds (a major problem in defending the far-flung Soviet Union), and its weight made it difficult to fly at low altitude.
While the Foxbat did have good high-altitude performance, the question in IA-PVO commanders was exactly what the MiG-25 was designed to intercept: the XB-70 had been cancelled, the B-52 was a subsonic bomber, and (at the time) the B-1’s continued existence was in question. As a reconnaissance aircraft, the Foxbat was superb; in combat, the aircraft would be so limited as to only be able to operate as a point-defense interceptor—which could be done just as easily and cheaper by MiG-21s.
Mikoyan-Gurevich began work on a successor, the Ye-155MP. This used the MiG-25P as its basis, but with a longer fuselage to add a second cockpit for the radar operator; the Soviets had noticed the success American fighters such as the F-4 Phantom II and F-14 Tomcat had with a two-man crew, and earlier Soviet interceptors such as the Yak-28 had two-man crews. Because the MiG-25’s weight—it was mostly stainless steel--had so limited its performance, the Ye-155 would use more titanium and aluminum than steel. (It was still heavier than any other interceptor in service: the MiG-31 is ten tons heavier than the Tu-134 airliner.) Some streamlining was also done, and the Tumansky engines of the Foxbat were replaced by more efficient Soloviev D-30 turbofans. Manueverability was still limited compared to other fighters, but the MiG-31 was never meant to be used in a dogfight.
With an emphasis on range rather than necessarily speed—though the design was still capable of Mach 2.8—the new aircraft was better suited for the long-range, high-endurance interception role needed to patrol the long borders of the Soviet Union. As such, it was a brand-new aircraft rather than a variant of the MiG-25, and Mikoyan-Gurevich designated the aircraft as MiG-31. Production began in 1979, but it was not until the early 1980s that the West learned of the MiG-31’s existence, giving it the reporting name of Foxhound.
As the MiG-31’s primary role was interception, that of bombers and especially smaller cruise missiles, the Foxhound had to have a good radar; the MiG-25’s radar was only average, though valued for its ability to burn through enemy jamming through sheer electronic force. The MiG-31 was equipped with the Zaslon S-800 radar, the first Soviet radar capable of look-down, shoot-down interception, with a range of 125 miles and a capability to track ten targets and attack four of them at once. To back the radar up, an infrared sensor was added under the nose, while the fire control computer could be datalinked to five other MiG-31s, allowing a single fighter to coordinate the attack of several others. The R-33 missile was developed specifically for the Foxhound: based on the AIM-54 Phoenix, the R-33 has a maximum range of about 80 miles and, like the Phoenix, was designed to destroy bombers or cruise missiles at extreme range. The R-33 was also designed to home in on the emissions of E-3 AWACS. It was also equipped with a GSh-30-6 gatling cannon, but after losses due to premature detonations of cannon ammunition in 1983, today’s MiG-31s never carry ammunition for the weapon.
The collapse of the Soviet Union led to Foxhound serviceability rates dropping below 20 percent by 1996. A crash program began with the beginning of the Putin regime to get the MiG-31s flying again, and ten years later the rate had jumped to 70 percent. The MiG-31 is undergoing a slow process of modernization, adding HOTAS, multifunction displays, a new Western-style multimode radar, and a limited air-to-ground capability, allowing the MiG-31 to operate in the high-altitude SEAD role performed by the MiG-25. Today, it is the only dedicated interceptor in Russian service, serving alongside the MiG-29 and Su-27.
This was built straight from the 1/144 Revell kit, and painted in IA-PVO air defense gray, with darker grays for the radome and ECM panels. The warload of two drop tanks and two R-40 (AA-6) Acrid missiles is standard, though the missiles probably should be outboard of the drop tanks (in my defense, I was following the kit instructions).