Микоян - Гуревич, МиГ-21 [Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21] NATO Reporting Name FISHBED

[MAD]

In 1969, the GRU (Soviet Military Intelligence) reported that the United States Air Force (USAF) was working on a new fighter aircraft project, that they called the 'Light Weight Fighter' (LWF).
The intelligence had stated that the LWF was being designed with low cost and simplicity in mind, with a prime requirement to better the close-in maneuverability capability of the likes of the Soviets MiG-21 'Fishbed'.

This lead to some grave concerns within the Soviet Frontal Aviation high command, which had invested much money, effort, time and hope in a new larger and heavier fighter aircraft, with experience they too had gained from the Vietnam and Middle East Wars.
This new advanced fighter – known as the Ye-231 / MiG-23, had sacrificed maneuverability for speed and STOL performance to match the likes of the powerful American McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II.

The Sukhoi, MiG and Yakolev Bureau where requested to study a new advanced, high maneuverable fighter design to replace the MiG-21 fighter design, to equal or surpass the American F-15 Eagle and the LWF, while the efforts put into the Ye-231 / MiG-23 would be reassigned to the role of interceptor in the PVO and a modified tactical strike (the later MiG-27)

The response by the Bureau's was not encouraging, when they stated that it would take between 8-10 years to develop a fighter, avionics and engines needed.
It was also made clear, that until more information was made available about the LWF – otherwise it could be another expensive Ye-231 / MiG-23 development story.
It was deemed both sensible and logical to take the expertise of the aircraft Bureau's advice.
But it was only when the MiG Bureau proposed a comprehensively improved variant of the famous MiG-21 itself, which the American LWF had been designed and built to counter in the first place, as a stand-in design until the newly requested Soviet Advanced Fighter could be developed and fielded.

The MiG Bureau would take the opportunity with the 'Advanced MiG-21' to remedy some of the MiG-21 designs biggest flaws, and short comings such as:
-   Improve operational range,
-   Improve airfield length performance,
-   Improve weapons carrying capability
-   Improve pilot's cockpit all-round visibility

The MiG engineers worked on the rear fuselage so as to accommodate the MiG-23's more powerful Tumanskii R-27 turbojet, in place of the original Tumansky R-25-300 turbojet engine, offering an improved power-to-weight ratio and as an economical and time saving measure.

The original double-delta wing configuration was replaced by a larger modified wing that had been developed to test the wing design of the Tu-144 SST. This new larger area wing design offered many improvements in:
- Superior take-off and landing performance,
      - Superior all-aspect flying performance and maneuverability,

      - additional fuel.
      - additional weapons hard points under each wing (to give a total of 3 per wing)

A lengthen forward fuselage would be utilized to balance the additional weight of the
R-27 turbojet, but more importantly it allowed for greater internal fuel.

A new designed cockpit is incorporated into the redesign, so as to give much improved all-round pilot visibility.

This ability of the MiG Bureau to squeeze out that little more out of an already renowned fighter design, at such a low cost in production and R&D was rewarded by a large production order by the Soviet Government, of the aircraft that would be known as the MiG-21I XL (the X = Extra, and the L = Length).

The success and obvious improved of the MiG-21I XL, over that of the earlier MiG-21 series, was apparent, when Soviet allies and foreign countries began to chose it over that of the MiG-23 'Flogger' series on offer.
Air Forces that acquired the MiG-21I XL was:
Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, East Germany, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Syria, Libya, Cuba, Soviet Union and Angola


The MiG-21I XL would remain in service until it was replaced in production and service in the Soviet Union by the purpose designed and built MiG-29 'Fulcrum'


M.A.D

[The Rat]

BUILD IT! 

[Archibald]

...and build it quickly, otherwise Ysi will do it even before you start thinking "what model should I butcher..?" oops too late!

[MAD]

Thanks gents – but I have not got the time or the facilities, as I am 'on ops' at the moment, using my mobile phone.
Added to this I have not the talent needed, that why I like this site so much – to admire your work and efforts.
Please feel free to have a crack at it!!!

Regards
M.A.D

[ysi_maniac]

Does anyone mention me?

Well, IMHO a pure delta will not have better handling or take off characteristics than a tailed delta. I know that any of our resident engineers can correct me. The point is: delta wings are struturally perfect but aerodynamically bad. In line with your alter history, I would think in a simplified, fixed wing MiG-23, derived from the VTOL version, tailed delta or swept wing.

[Daryl J.]

A number of years back, somebody did a beautiful conversion of Fujimi's Mig-21bis into the Analogue.

Agreed.....build w/ enthusiasm!!!!



Daryl J.

[Burncycle]

Reminds me a little of the D-21 drone

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=D-21%20drone&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

[dy031101]

Question: was there ever a tailess delta-winged alternative MiG-19 design?

Just thought that it would look great whether it is matched with a nose intake (as in MiG-19/J-6) or lateral intakes (as in Q-5)......

[Weaver]

No it went the other way: there were early MiG-21ish things that had highly-swept wings instead of deltas.

The one I fancy for an intermediate MiG-19/21 is the SM-12, which was basically a MiG-19 airframe and wings, but fitted with much more powerful engines and an early MiG-21-style sharp-lipped, variable intake. Looks eminently whiiffable.......

MAD - there really was a low-risk "super-MiG-21" developed as a backup to the MiG-23, which had a ventral intake (shaped like an upside-down F-107) in order to carry the -23's radar. I'd have thought any "agile" MiG-21 would have been based on that, and the irony would have been quite good, since it resembles a "Sovietized" F-16, i.e. cruder but VERY aggressive-looking....

[MAD]

Ah yes Weaver!
Are you talking about the MiG Ye-8?



Again another missed opportunity by the Soviet's of making a great plane design (the MiG-21) even greater!

M.A.D

[Weaver]

That's the fella - couldn't remember the Ye-number....

Pretty isn't it? Before North American went for the dorsal intake on the F-107, there were several advanced F-100 proposals that had this kind of intake.

The Ye-8's canards are interesting: they arn't control surfaces as such, just a neat solution to the trim problems caused by the centre of lift moving backward as you go thorugh mach=1, which are particularly severe on deltas. The surfaces had a symetrical airfoil section and at subsonic speeds were allowed to "free stream" into the airflow so they had no effect. As speed approached mach=1. the control system "gathered" them and set them at a small fixed angle of incidence, thereby creating lift forward of the CofG to balance the backwards-migrating centre of lift of the main wing.

Of course, you could imagine an updated control system that gathered the surfaces when the flaps were set to "combat" and then linked them to the elevons for MUCH increased pitch rate....

A few years back, I schemed a mythical aircraft that combined the Ye-8's fuselage with an Su-22-style outboard-pivot swing wing - that looks good.....

[Sauragnmon]

I figured here was as good as anywhere else, mods move this if it's misplaced.  I'm wondering if anybody knows where I can get my hands on the MiG-21I conversion kit that's out there.  I'm without information, and hit dead ends normally.  I'd like to get the conversion kit rather than the full blown kit, as I'm hoping to bash the Analog wings and such onto a service MiG-21 and do an Analog in service and revised.

Any help appreciated.

[Sauragnmon]

So... there's no thread for this.  I could swear there was, but the search turns up nothing.  Anyways, here's an idea I've been toying around with.  Fishbed Seaplane?  I thought retracting floats on the sides, like the Kyofu and Seiran would do quite nicely, if they're made to retract against the fuselage to look something like CFT's, perhaps even doubling as CFT's.  Serve it up for an island nation, somewhere that doesn't have a lot of airstrips, as a defensive fighter, or serve it up on a Sovietized I-400 offering.

Other thoughts, or feedback?

[GTX]

How about a pure rocket MiG-21 point defence interceptor:



Regards,

Greg

[dy031101]

How about a pure rocket MiG-21 point defence interceptor:

Man you're evil.