Mig-21 ASR Jet Query

[Cobra]

Hey Guys, a Thought just Struck Me:What If the Mig-21 were used by Some Nations as an ASR(Air Sea Rescue) Jet?  Think it might Work? part of the Reason i ask is Because i had sometimes Wondered if while Doing my Own Spin on GA, Groups like the Eastern Alliance used the Mig-21 as the Basis for an ASR jet. What Say You? Thanks for looking.Dan

[Maverick]

Dan,

To be perfectly honest, the Fishbed is a bad choice for the role.  It is woefully short on range, like it's contemporaries (eg: the Lightning) and wouldn't have the effective endurance to do much in the way of patrolling.

Regards,

Mav

[Daryl J.]

The owner of a MiG-21MF told us his machine is lucky to have about 15 minutes worth of fuel for level flight.   It essentially defined what a point-defense interceptor is.

Daryl J.

[pyro-manic]

Perhaps de-rate the engine or replace it with a nice efficient new turbofan, and fit some big, thick wings (U-2?) full of fuel tanks to increase the range and let it cruise at a low-ish speed.

[GTX]

Could not work - how does it do the rescue part of ASR??

Greg

[Cobra]

Thanks for the Feedback Guys, Think a Mig-23 or Mig-27 would work better for ASR? my First Thought with the Mig-21 was as a Coastal First Response ASR Jet! how does that sound? Dan

[GTX]

Still would not work...again, how does it do the RESCUE part of ASR??

I'll give you a hint:  P-3 Orions can't do ASR either.

Greg

[pyro-manic]

What about that trapeze type system that some B-17s had post-war? It was in a James Bond film IIRC...

[PR19_Kit]

What about that trapeze type system that some B-17s had post-war? It was in a James Bond film IIRC...

.....and when the poor sap who'd been 'rescued' was swept up by that trapeze thingie and into the exhaust stream of the engine...... 

[ChernayaAkula]

What about that trapeze type system that some B-17s had post-war? It was in a James Bond film IIRC...

.....and when the poor sap who'd been 'rescued' was swept up by that trapeze thingie and into the exhaust stream of the engine...... 

Well, he'd be dry and warm and cosy in next to no time! 

[Sentinel Chicken]

Still would not work...again, how does it do the RESCUE part of ASR??

I'll give you a hint:  P-3 Orions can't do ASR either.

Greg

It could be accomplished the same way the Spitfire ASR.2 did it in World War II: http://aviationtrivia.blogspot.com/2009/12/one-of-more-un-usual-but-little-known.html

[GTX]

Yet again, the Spitfire did not actually rescue anyone (though as a whiff idea, perhaps a float-plane version could have ) - despite being called ASR or SAR, all they could is search, locate and at most drop rafts etc to survivors.  In fact, in the RAAF, we used to call what people commonly think of as SAR as SASS (Search And Survivor Supply) so as to accurately describe what was done.

regards,

Greg

[NARSES2]

despite being called ASR or SAR, all they could is search, locate and at most drop rafts etc to survivors.  In fact, in the RAAF, we used to call what people commonly think of as SAR as SASS (Search And Survivor Supply) so as to accurately describe what was done.

regards,

Greg

Exactly Greg, often wondered why they used the term ASR (although the aircraft were part of an ASR team I suppose) the RAAF terminology is much more accurate 

[Weaver]

The owner of a MiG-21MF told us his machine is lucky to have about 15 minutes worth of fuel for level flight.   It essentially defined what a point-defense interceptor is.

Daryl J.

IIRC, there's a design fault in the MiG-21 which means that not all the fuel it has got can actually be used, because if it were, the CofG would move backwards beyond controllability limits....





Dan: just to add to the chorus  (), how would a MiG-21/23/27 even do the "search" bit? They have small radars with limited azimuth range and all of them have notoriously bad visibility from the cockpit, particularly downwards......

Really, if you want high-speed search (which IS a valid objective) then you're better off with a business jet like a Falcon or Hawker 800XP with enough volume to carry a 360 deg. scan radar, a FLIR turret, and several observers with bubble windows. Given that using supersonic speed would hugely eat into a fighter jet's endurance, the practical performance of the biz jet is actually better.

I picked up a VEB Yak-40 recently: that'd be interesting with as a SAR aircraft....