MiG-29 "Fulcrum": Soviet Stolen Success | Corrupted Intel Files

Video from the channel Captain Slicerax about MiG-29, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 27:01. Language: English. Video type: Documentary.

A humorously toned look at the genesis of the MiG-29 "Fulcrum," focused on other people's ideas that, according to the author, ended up in its design: the blended wing-body it shared with Sukhoi's T-10, the leading-edge root extensions (LERX) studied on F-5 fighters captured in Vietnam, the helmet-mounted sight, and the infrared search-and-track system. It also covers its engines, radar, and combat record.

The starting point is the lessons of Vietnam and the 1967 Six-Day War: Soviet fighters lacked beyond-visual-range capability and well-trained pilots. The USSR set up training center 1521 at Mary and launched two fourth-generation fighter programs, one heavy (PFI) and one light (LFI). Mikoyan, which was counting on the MiG-31 for other needs, pitched its design for the LFI. Within the bureau there was a struggle between supporters of the blended wing-body and those favoring a conventional design; one female engineer's calculations backed the first option, which was chosen for the 1974 prototype. The requirements were Mach 2 capability, high maneuverability, beyond-visual-range capability with a secondary ground-attack role, and the ability to operate from forward bases. The aircraft reached full operational capability in 1986, and the West got a close look at it at Farnborough in 1988.

The lifting fuselage provides around 40% of the lift. It carries two Klimov RD-33 turbofans in underfuselage nacelles: an engine can be swapped in about two hours, and their slight toe-in reduces yaw if one fails. To prevent foreign object ingestion, the nose gear was moved rearward, and on the ground the intakes close while the engine breathes through top louvers. The Shchel-3UM helmet sight was paired with the 1984 R-73 missile. Among its weak points, the video notes the short range, the N019 radar's analog processing — whose secrets were sold to the CIA by Fazotron engineer Adolf Tolkachev, executed in 1986 — and the poor performance of the R-27: in the Badme war between Ethiopia and Eritrea, of more than 30 fired only one hit its target. In 1991 the United States bought 21 MiG-29s from Moldova to keep them from being sold to Iran.