What If Iraqi Army Had Russian MiG-31 Jets? (Pravda)

Pravda ^ | 3/28/3 | Sergey Permyakov

[WaveThatFlag]

Sounds like a sales pitch to other countries: buy our jets and you'll be safe from the American imperialists.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

We have a winner!!!

[zingzang]

This sounds like something that "Red" Dan Rather would like to get ahold of for tonight's broadcast. Oh, nevermind, they've got enough contrived defeatist material to keep them busy. This can stay on the back burner when they run out of fresh "what if" scenarios. Morons.

[Retrofire]

The Mig-31 has a good radar and some long range missiles, but it's still just a doped up Mig-25. It's not up to coalition standards.

The Russians do some pretty ingenius stuff with the technology they have, but their air power is a sad joke.

[Poohbah]

Hmmm, a viable opponent? Yes, but still bulky. give me a F-15, or an F-16 anyday!

Not really. No gun, and kindly note that the rearward visibilty in the MiG-31 series is roughly as good as the Foxbat's--specifically, never mind what's behind you, you ain't ever gonna see it anyway.

[Arkinsaw]

What if the Clippers won the NBA championship?

[TADSLOS]

With enough genetic engineering, it might happen.

Ham on the wing...who'da thunk it?

[Poohbah]

I remember when Gene Shue promised San Diego that he would make us proud of the Clippers.

He did.

He moved 'em to Los Angeles.

[Porterville]

There is like three of these in existence right??

[elbucko]

Arabs flying Mig-31's? Make a nice scrap pile.

[nevergore]

The MiG 31 is an awesome fighter....rivals anything we field as a flight platform and in someways it exceeds.....

The problem is that it's electronics and weapon delivery system lacks sophistication.

Secondly, tactics and pilot training are key and the Soviets couldn't match us there either....the Iraqis never would....

The Iraqis would be a smouldering molten mass in a few days....

NeverGore

[WaveThatFlag]

What if the Clippers won the NBA championship?

What if Michael Moore got laid?

[TLBSHOW]

ping

[Porterville]

[Spruce]

What if Superman was a Nazi?

[ffusco]

Russia, France, Germany:

The scum of the earth.

[El Gato]

The Mig-31, NATO code name Foxhound, is a pretty old design. It's based on the Mig-25 (Foxbat), but the raw performance is acutally downgraded from the MiG-25, to spare the engines in part and to allow for a second cockpit (for the weapons operator). It does have a better radar (much) than the -25. In fact it has the first operational electronically steerable antenna of any fighter type aircraft. It has had it for around 20 years. The B-1B has a similar antenna, while the F-14,-15,-16 do not. The B-2 has two of them. The F-22 and JSF will be the first US fighters with ESAs, but theirs will be active arrays, as oppposed to the passive arrays of the Mig-31. (Passive means the antenna doesn't provide or amplify the signals, but merely radiates and recieves then. An Active ESA has a little transmitter/receiver behind each element (sometime group of elements) of the array).

I'd be alot more worried about Su-27s and their "offspring" or even recent Mig-29s than I would Mig-31s, unless I was flying a BUFF, a bone or a B-2. Our fighters would eat the Mig-31s for lunch and not even belch, given comparable pilot skills. The same is not true of the Su-27, although we'd still have some edge, and of course there are no better trained and practiced pilots than those of the US and UK. Russian pilots are way behind on that score, and most other nations farther back yet. (Some exceptions, Japan, S. Korea, and others, that are basically friendly to the US and usually fly US equipment)

[Poohbah]

The MiG 31 is an awesome fighter....rivals anything we field as a flight platform and in someways it exceeds.....

You're obviously thinking of a different plane. The -31 is a warmed over MiG-25 Foxbat. It's fast--it flies like a bullet, and turns about as well.

[Dilbert56]

What if Michael Moore got an enema - he would disappear.

[Porterville]

Wow!!! Look at that Mig fly, soooo fast..

[Dilbert56]

And the F14's AIM-54C has a longer range than the Mig31's missiles. They would be knocked down from a distance.