Su-15MV Soviet Aggressor - FINISHED

[Weaver]

Sukhoi Su-15MV "Soviet Aggressor"

The Soviet aggressor program remains shrouded in mystery and little hard information has been released about it even since the end of the Cold War. What is known is that it started in the early 1970s, prompted by the poor performance of Soviet-supplied aircraft in Vietnam and the Middle East, and inspired by the equivalent American TOP GUN and RED FLAG programmes. There seem to have been several units engaged in this activity,  since published photographs of alleged "aggressor" aircraft don't all match up to the only semi-official account that's been published, that of the 1521st Airbase unit at Maryy-1 airbase in Turkmenistan.



The aircraft modelled here appeared briefly at the Central Air Force museum at Monino near Moscow in 1998, but was subsequently removed shortly after pictures of it were published in Western journals. According to the information plaque, it was designated Su-15MV, the MV standing for Modyeliruyemyiy Vrag which translates as "simulated enemy". No separate NATO ASCC reporting name was ever assigned to it. There is no mention of Su-15s of any kind in the history of the 1521st, and their modus operandi seems to have been to use standard Soviet aircraft with limited modifications even as regards paintwork,  let alone the elaborate modifications seen on this aircraft. It may be that it was used by the 1521st but not disclosed in their history, or that it was used by a different unit altogether, or that it was a prototype that didn't proceed any further. Both Sukhoi and the modern Russian Air Force remain tight-lipped on the matter.



The aircraft is based on a two-seat Su-15UM Flagon-G trainer. It has non-standard spine and chin fairings, under-sized fake Sidewinders on the inboard wing pylons, non-standard tanks on the (dry) outboard pylons and an elaborate paint job which not only replicates the USAF South East Asia camouflage scheme, but also attempts to create, at least from a distance, the impression of undercut engine nozzles and the corresponding rear fuselage shape. Most observers conclude from this that the Su-15 MV was a fairly sophisticated attempt to simulate the USAF's McDonnell-Douglas F-4E Phantom II, which saw extensive use in both Vietnam and the Yom Kippur war. The current whereabouts of this airframe, and any others that might have been built, remain unknown.



The tail codes create the impression of a USAF aircraft from a distance, but actually consist of a number (presumably the "Bort" number, since this doesn't appear anywhere else on the aircraft) instead of a base code, and the letters CCCP. The latter may have been "compensation" for the lack of the customary red star. Interestingly, the 1521st Airbase Unit seem to have picked up on this USAF practice, but published pictures of their aircraft show a fake base code of AM ("Aviabaza Maryy") instead. Some observers have used this as evidence that the Su-15MV was never used by that unit.



This spine fairing appears to have no purpose and is quite crudely made from a single sheet of aluminium. It was probably intended to replicate the silhouette of the F-4 Phantom.



This tube under the chin is presumably also for silhouette purposes, in this case to simulate the gun fairing of an F-4E Phantom. A much smaller radome is painted onto the original Su-15 one, again aping the American aircraft. However the tube also has a glass lens at it's front end, which has lead to some speculation that it may have held the "Hollywood" camera referred to in passing by some Russian pilots. Apparently being "big in Hollywood" or a "Hollywood star" was a jibe used to tease pilots who appeared in gun camera film too often. The exact identity of this camera has never been established. Another possibility was that it held an IR sensor intended to simulate the lock-on of  a Sidewinder.



The "Sidewinders" under the aircraft's wing are non-functional fakes, being about 30% under-sized and clearly made from fibreglass mouldings. This may have been done because of the very limited clearance around the Su-15's inboard pylon, which normally holds a single R-60 (AA-8 Aphid). The drop tanks are also presumed to be non-functional, since there has never been any indication that the Su-15's outer pylons were plumbed for fuel.



The cockpit canopy of the standard Su-15UM has the heavy framing typical of Soviet aircraft of the period. On the Su-15MV, areas of this framing have been painted black, presumably to make the cockpit area more closely resemble the less obstructed canopies of the Phantom.  



The Model

Kit : Trumpeter 1/72nd scale Su-15UM
Fakewinders : from Model Hobby Kits 1/100th F-15 Eagle
Drop tanks : kit ones with tails cut off
Chin Fairing : Evergreen tube with camera lens from spare Sea Harrier (?) clear sprue
Spine : Folded Evergreen sheet over square and round rod formers
Paint : Humbrol enamels, sprayed and brushed.
Decals : tail codes from Fantasy Printshop sheets, Soviet "shields" from ICM Beriev Be-4, low-vis red stars from Italeri MiG-37 "Ferret", stars'n'bars cut up from Revellobox Meteor NF.11 Netherlands markings with Fantasy Printshop stars. All the rest from the Su-15 kit.

Best bits : airbrushed worked perfectly, tail codes look good, overall look is right, particularly from a distance (which is how it should be).

Worst bit : the disconnect between how good the Trumpter kit looks in the box and how bad it is to actually build. If it had been a cheap cr4p kit that I'd bought for £5 then it wouldn't have hurt so much....














Thanks to all for the help, support and encouragement.  

I might do some more work on this one yet (matt coat, weathering) and I'm not best pleased with the photos either, but I wanted to get something posted before the deadline.

[Logan Hartke]

I REALLY like that. Very nice, well done.

Cheers,

Logan

[McGreig]

Very impressive

When you started, I wasn't convinced that this would look much different from an Su-15 in Soviet tactical camouflage, but I was wrong - this really could be an aggressor Phantom look-a-like

[Gondor]

Great build 

Expect the unexpected which it was.

Gondor

[PR19_Kit]

That's the BUSINESS Weaver! 

The backstory is great too, seriously believable.

[NARSES2]

That really does look good

[Weaver]

Cheers folks - much appreciated.  

The backstory is great too, seriously believable.

A good mystery is always better than a bad explanation.....

[Thorvic]

Love it, just have to remind myself it is a Whif 

[Army of One]

Cracking build H.......love it........

[Old Wombat]

That's the BUSINESS Weaver! 

The backstory is great too, seriously believable.

What the gentleman in the hat said!

[comrade harps]

Love it. 

Which gets me thinking of a group build for aggressor whifs.

[Dizzyfugu]

That SEA scheme looks SO cool on the Su-15! 

VERY nicely done, surprising, in a positive way!

[kitbasher]

Now I know what the theme is (Soviet Aggressor) and please don't take this the wrong way, but.............

......it makes me think of a Wild Weasel F-105F. 

[eatthis]

thats a cracking build
if i squint at the su15 it almost looks like a russian tsr2

[Weaver]

Now I know what the theme is (Soviet Aggressor) and please don't take this the wrong way, but.............

......it makes me think of a Wild Weasel F-105F. 

Cheers!

You're quite right: an Su-15MV could play a Thud by just changing the paint scheme a bit. Lose the "undercut nozzles" stuff and use sky blue to try to make the wings look swept with Ferri intakes. My other candidate for that job, in terms of low-level performance and rough shape, would be an Su-7, but I don't know how you'd deal with the nose intake. orf course for this job, you're not trying to make an exact visual copy of the enemy plane, just soemthing that can play the part in air combat. The Su-15MV is probably about as far as anyone would go in real life: after all, real US and Soviet aggressors don't have ANY physical vismods, and an F-5 looks nothing like a MiG-21.