![]() The Chinese variants somewhat improved the internal fuel tank layout (as did the second generation of Soviet variants), and also carried significantly larger external fuel tanks to counter this issue. This can be somewhat countered by carrying fuel in external tanks closer to the center of gravity. This had the effect of making the plane statically unstable to the point of being difficult to control, resulting in an endurance of only 45 minutes in clean condition. As the internal fuel was consumed, the center of gravity would shift rearward beyond acceptable parameters. This was exacerbated by the poor placement of the internal fuel tanks ahead of the centre of gravity. Like many aircraft designed as interceptors, the MiG-21 had a short range. However, the characteristic layout with the shock cone and front air intake did not see widespread use outside the USSR and ultimately proved to have limited development potential, mainly due to the small available space for the radar. Its basic layout was used for numerous other Soviet designs delta-winged aircraft included the Su-9 interceptor and fast E-150 prototype from the MiG bureau, while the successful mass-produced frontline fighter Su-7 and Mikoyan's I-75 experimental interceptor combined a similar fuselage shape with swept-back wings. It was a lightweight fighter, achieving Mach 2 with a relatively low-powered afterburning turbojet, and is thus comparable to the American Lockheed F-104 Starfighter and Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter and the French Dassault Mirage III. The MiG-21 was the first successful Soviet aircraft combining fighter and interceptor characteristics in a single aircraft. MiG-21М National People's Army of the GDR, August 1990 In one instance, Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1960–1961 listed the "Fishbed" as a Sukhoi design and used an illustration of the Su-9 'Fishpot'. In the West, due to the lack of available information, early details of the MiG-21 often were confused with those of similar Soviet fighters of the era. It made its maiden flight on 16 June 1955 and its first public appearance during the Soviet Aviation Day display at Moscow's Tushino airfield in July 1956. The first prototype with the delta wings found on production variants was the Ye-4. Both these and other early prototypes featured swept wings. This project was very quickly reworked when it was determined that the planned engine was underpowered the redesign led to the second prototype, the Ye-2. A number of experimental Mach 2 Soviet designs were based on nose intakes with either swept-back wings, such as the Sukhoi Su-7, or tailed deltas, of which the MiG-21 would be the most successful.ĭevelopment of what would become the MiG-21 began in the early 1950s when Mikoyan OKB finished a preliminary design study for a prototype designated Ye-1 in 1954. The MiG-21 jet fighter was a continuation of Soviet jet fighters, starting with the subsonic MiG-15 and MiG-17, and the supersonic MiG-19. It set aviation records, becoming the most-produced supersonic jet aircraft in aviation history, the most-produced combat aircraft since the Korean War and, previously, the longest production run of any combat aircraft (now exceeded by both the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle and General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon). Its nicknames include: "balalaika", because its planform resembles the stringed musical instrument of the same name " Ołówek", Polish for "pencil", due to the shape of its fuselage, and " Én Bạc", meaning "silver swallow", in Vietnamese.Īpproximately 60 countries across four continents have flown the MiG-21, and it still serves many nations six decades after its maiden flight. ![]() ![]() The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 ( Russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21 NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. (10,645 produced in the USSR, 840 in India, 194 in Czechoslovakia)
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