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MiG-31K
The Mikoyan MiG-31 (; NATO reporting name: Foxhound) is a supersonic interceptor aircraft developed for the Soviet Air Forces by the Mikoyan design bureau as a replacement for the earlier MiG-25 "Foxbat"; the MiG-31 is based on and shares design elements with the MiG-25. The MiG-31 is one of the fastest known operational combat aircraft in the world as of 2021, with a top speed around . It continues to be operated by the Russian Aerospace Forces following the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The other operator, the Kazakh Air Defence Forces, retired the type in 2023. The Russian Defence Ministry expects the MiG-31 to remain in service until at least 2030; that was confirmed in 2020 when an announcement was made to extend the service lifetime of the existing airframes from 2,500 to 3,500 hours. Development Background The single-seat MiG-25 could achieve high speed, altitude, and rate of climb, but it lacked manoeuvrability at interception ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Firefox (film)
''Firefox'' is a 1982 American action techno-thriller film produced, directed by, and starring Clint Eastwood. The cast also includes Freddie Jones, Kenneth Colley, Warren Clarke, and Nigel Hawthorne. Based on the 1977 novel of the same name by Craig Thomas, ''Firefox'' is the only film appearance of Thomas' character Mitchell Gant. The film recounts Gant's mission to secretly enter the Soviet Union, hijack a cutting-edge fighter plane, and fly the aircraft back into American hands. Although the story is largely set in the Soviet Union, Cold War considerations meant that Eastwood's and Fritz Manes' Malpaso Company used several locations in Austria, including Vienna, for many scenes. One source states that the film was shot on a $21 million budget, the largest-ever production budget for Malpaso. Another source indicates that over $20 million was spent on special effects. The effects have been called "particularly innovative," as the "reverse bluescreen" technique was in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The term ''Cold war (term), cold war'' is used because there was no direct fighting between the two superpowers, though each supported opposing sides in regional conflicts known as proxy wars. In addition to the struggle for ideological and economic influence and an arms race in both conventional and Nuclear arms race, nuclear weapons, the Cold War was expressed through technological rivalries such as the Space Race, espionage, propaganda campaigns, Economic sanctions, embargoes, and sports diplomacy. After the end of World War II in 1945, during which the US and USSR had been allies, the USSR installed satellite state, satellite governments in its occupied territories in Eastern Europe and N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HOTAS
HOTAS, an acronym of hands on throttle-and-stick, is the concept of placing buttons and switches on the throttle lever and flight control stick in an aircraft cockpit. By adopting such an arrangement, pilots are capable of performing all vital functions as well as flying the aircraft without having to remove their hands from the controls. The HOTAS principle has also been applied outside the aviation sector, and has made a noticeable impact upon both the road vehicle design and gaming industries. History HOTAS was originally applied to military aircraft, starting with the British interceptor aircraft, the English Electric Lightning, in the late 1950s. The concept quickly spread to numerous other aircraft, such as the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, IAI Super Phantom, Mikoyan MiG-29, and Eurofighter Typhoon. In more modern implementations, it is often combined with several other input systems, such as direct voice input and helmet-mounted display, to further redu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
TASS
The Russian News Agency TASS, or simply TASS, is a Russian state-owned news agency founded in 1904. It is the largest Russian news agency and one of the largest news agencies worldwide. TASS is registered as a Federal State Unitary Enterprise, owned by the government of Russia. Headquartered in Moscow, it has 70 offices in Russia and in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), "along with 56 global branches in 53 countries". In the Soviet period, it was named the Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union () and was the central agency of the Soviet government for news collection and distribution for all Soviet newspapers, radio and television stations. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, it was renamed Information Telegraph Agency of Russia (ITAR-TASS) () in 1992, but reverted to the simpler TASS name in 2014. Currently, on a daily basis TASS is "publishing nearly 3,000 news items in six languages and about 700 photographs and videos from correspondents in Russia and a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (; NATO reporting name: Flogger) is a variable-sweep wing, variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan, Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB, design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is a third-generation jet fighter, alongside similar Soviet aircraft such as the Sukhoi Su-17, Su-17 "Fitter". It was the first Soviet fighter to field a look-down/shoot-down radar, the RP-23 Sapfir, and one of the first to be armed with beyond-visual-range missiles. Production started in 1969 and reached large numbers with over 5,000 aircraft built, making it the most produced variable-sweep wing aircraft in history. The MiG-23 remains in limited service with some export customers. The basic design was also used as the basis for the Mikoyan MiG-27, a dedicated ground-attack variant. Among many minor changes, the MiG-27 replaced the MiG-23's nose-mounted radar system with an optical panel holding a laser designator and a TV camera. Development The MiG-23's predecessor, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Viktor Belenko
Viktor Ivanovich Belenko (; February 15, 1947 – September 24, 2023) was a Soviet-born American aerospace engineer and pilot who defected in 1976 to the West while flying his MiG-25 "Foxbat" jet interceptor and landed in Hakodate, Japan. George H. W. Bush, the Director of Central Intelligence at the time, called the opportunity to examine the plane up close an "intelligence bonanza" for the West. Belenko later became a U.S. aerospace engineer. Early life and defection Belenko was born in Nalchik, Russian SFSR, in a Russian family (his passport states his ethnicity as Russian). Lieutenant Belenko was a pilot with the 513th Fighter Regiment, 11th Air Army, Soviet Air Defence Forces based in Chuguyevka, Primorsky Krai. On 6 September 1976, he successfully defected to the West by flying his MiG-25 jet fighter to Hakodate Airport in Hokkaido, Japan. This was the first time that Western military intelligence were able to get a close look at the aircraft and its s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
