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Syria Buying MiG-31s, MiG-29s for $1 billion
30-Mar-2009 11:09 EDT
In June 2007, Russian newspapers claimed that Russia had begun delivering 5 MiG-31E Foxhound aircraft to Syria, under a deal that was reportedly negotiated in autumn 2006. The Russian newspaper Kommersant added that:
...a lot of MiG-29M/M2 jets was sold to Syria as well. They are being sold abroad for the first time and are similar in their technical specifications to the MiG-35 model Russia is now offering India. The total value of the contract for the MiG-31 and MiG-29M/M2 aircraft is estimated at $1 billion.
The paper added that the deal is being financed by Iran as a back-door purchase. Russia sort-of denied the sale, but careful reading raised doubts. Now, the head of the DIA appears to confirm the Syrian contracts
Kommersant cites a number of indicators that this may be the case, including a Janes report in May 2007 that a similar arrangement has being used to funnel some of Syrias 36 new Pantsir-S1E air defense systems to Iran in exchange for a fences (sorry, intermediary) fee. They also cite the 2 countries recent mutual defense agreements, including the July 2006 agreement signed by both countries defense ministers, which envisaged Iranian financing of Syrian arms deals with Russia, Ukraine and China.
In response, Russian authorities have issued non-denial denials.
Russias Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said in a statement that ...all of Russias deals in the sphere of military-technical cooperation comply with international law and Russias obligations under various treaties and United Nations resolutions. Since none of those obligation prohibit sales to Syria, this response is utterly meaningless.
Sergei Chemezov, head of state arms-trading monopoly Rosoboronexport, is quoted as saying that Russia has no plans to deliver fighter jets to Syria and Iran. Of course, a sale of fighter jets only to Syria would comply with this statement and if the Syrians choose to send them to Iran, that concerns Syrias plans and not Russias.
Subsequent Developments
March 29/09: The Jerusalem Post reports that Pentagon Defense Intelligence Agency Lt.-Gen. Michael D. Maples provided official confirmation of the sale in his testimony annual threat assessment to the US Senate Armed Services Committee:
With regard to its external defense, Syrias military remains in a defensive posture and inferior to Israels forces, but it is upgrading its missile, rocket, antitank, aircraft and air defense inventories . Recent Syrian contracts with Russia for future delivery include new MiG-31 and MiG-29M/M2 fighter aircraft.
The MiG-31E is reportedly offered on a trade-in basis for countries that have the MiG-25 Foxbat interceptor, a list that currently includes only Syria, Libya, and Kazakhstan.
The big MiG-25 caused quite a sensation in the west when it was first unveiled, and incidents in which the planes were tracked at speeds around Mach 3 added to its mystique. In time, the west would learn that its aerodynamic design and lack of a gun made it vulnerable in dogfights, that flying at speeds over Mach 2.5 had a tendency to melt the planes engines, and that its range was extremely short. Ddefector Viktor Belenko, who gave the USA its first look by flying his MiG-25 from Russia to Japan, found that the 1-way flight left his fuel tanks nearly dry.
The MiG-31 made a virtue out of the Foxbats vices, turning it into a 2-seat hunter-killer of cruise missiles via extra fuel, improved engines and intakes, in-flight refueling, the Flash Dance electronically scanned radar, a retractable refueling probe, and an internal gun. Unlike its predecessor, the MiG-31 is capable of low-level supersonic flight, and can reach Mach 2.8 before its engines begin to melt. It also has communications capabilities that allow its pilot to view the full air battle in a C3I mini-AWACS role, and direct other aircraft like a chess player.
Aeronautics.RU described the MiG-31E variant as:
Export version of basic Type 01. Prototype (903) first noted 1997; simplified systems, no active jammer, downgraded IFF, radar and DASS. Offered to China, India and other countries.
These planes could be of some use to Syria in an air defense role. Syrias air force, which was once reliably on the cutting edge of technology during its Cold War years as a Soviet proxy, has not modernized in over a decade.
Irans two air forces (regular and Revolutionary Guard) would find the MiG-31s style crimped by the absence of air-to-air refueling capabilities, but cruise missile defense is important to them given the likelihood of cruise being used in enemy strikes from Israel or America. MiG-31s could also step into the fighter AWACS role that has been played to date by Irans dwindling but ingeniously maintained fleet of F-14A Tomcat fighters. This would be only marginally useful against a full American offensive, but could make a big difference to Irans ability to cover limited targets such as an Israeli strike on its nuclear bomb-making facilities.
Readers who really want to understand the MiG-31 are urged to book a flight for themselves.
As for the MiG-29, Syria already flies earlier versions. So does Iran, thanks to the Iraqi Air Force who fled to safe haven in Iran during the 1991 Gulf War.
The aircraft has a poor combat record, in part because early variants, that were not fully equipped, were used in scenarios that were extremely lopsided from the outset in all respects.
When used on more even terms, however, German pilots who flew East Germanys older MiG-29As against NATO F-16s and other jets believed that the planes were nearly unbeatable in short-range dogfights when armed with Russias AA-11/R-73 Archer short range missiles and helmet-mounted display systems. The fallout from those exercises actually led Germany to quit the ASRAAM program, and begin work on the multinational IRIS-T short-range missile instead. It also led to helmet-mounted sights becoming standard equipment on most modern combat aircraft around the world.
The MiG-29As biggest weaknesses were short range, engines that produce telltale smoke (very bad in air combat) and lack of true multi-role capability. Its other weakness is Russian spare parts support; India found that the long turnaround times led to terrible readiness rates, with a large portion of its MiG-29A fleet grounded at any given time. In response, they have taken steps that include licensed local engine production.
The MiG-29M/M2 uses welded lithium-aluminum alloys to save weight, while adding extra fuel in a new aircraft spine down the back and in the spaces once occupied by the auxiliary air intakes. This is coupled with improved engines, and redesigned horizontal tailplanes that improve maneuvering performance. A new radar and avionics package improves air-air performance, broadens its available arsenal, and adds ground-attack capability, making it a true multi-role aircraft.
The MiG-29OVT, aka. MiG-35, adds further upgrades to the radar and avionics package, and offers multi-directional thrust-vectoring engines for an additional super-maneuverability edge close-in.
In a situation where neither side had external advantages, when flown by pilots of comparable skill, and armed with similar missiles, it is likely that a true MiG-35 would be at least an even adversary for any Israeli opponent, and any American aircraft other than the F-22A.
Of course, war isnt about even odds. War is about finding the most unbalancing things available, and doing them as quickly as possible. The use of true AWACS aircraft, electronic jamming, better radars, better missiles, and pilot skill differences would all combine to ensure that any fight involving Israel vs. Syria or Iran vs. the USA would be anything but even. Syrias MiG-25s, MiG-23s, and MiG-21s experienced that first hand in 1982, when they were massacred 80 to 0 over Lebanons Bekaa Valley.
Syria Buying MiG-31s, MiG-29s for $1 billion
30-Mar-2009 11:09 EDT
In June 2007, Russian newspapers claimed that Russia had begun delivering 5 MiG-31E Foxhound aircraft to Syria, under a deal that was reportedly negotiated in autumn 2006. The Russian newspaper Kommersant added that:
...a lot of MiG-29M/M2 jets was sold to Syria as well. They are being sold abroad for the first time and are similar in their technical specifications to the MiG-35 model Russia is now offering India. The total value of the contract for the MiG-31 and MiG-29M/M2 aircraft is estimated at $1 billion.
The paper added that the deal is being financed by Iran as a back-door purchase. Russia sort-of denied the sale, but careful reading raised doubts. Now, the head of the DIA appears to confirm the Syrian contracts
Kommersant cites a number of indicators that this may be the case, including a Janes report in May 2007 that a similar arrangement has being used to funnel some of Syrias 36 new Pantsir-S1E air defense systems to Iran in exchange for a fences (sorry, intermediary) fee. They also cite the 2 countries recent mutual defense agreements, including the July 2006 agreement signed by both countries defense ministers, which envisaged Iranian financing of Syrian arms deals with Russia, Ukraine and China.
In response, Russian authorities have issued non-denial denials.
Russias Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said in a statement that ...all of Russias deals in the sphere of military-technical cooperation comply with international law and Russias obligations under various treaties and United Nations resolutions. Since none of those obligation prohibit sales to Syria, this response is utterly meaningless.
Sergei Chemezov, head of state arms-trading monopoly Rosoboronexport, is quoted as saying that Russia has no plans to deliver fighter jets to Syria and Iran. Of course, a sale of fighter jets only to Syria would comply with this statement and if the Syrians choose to send them to Iran, that concerns Syrias plans and not Russias.
Subsequent Developments
March 29/09: The Jerusalem Post reports that Pentagon Defense Intelligence Agency Lt.-Gen. Michael D. Maples provided official confirmation of the sale in his testimony annual threat assessment to the US Senate Armed Services Committee:
With regard to its external defense, Syrias military remains in a defensive posture and inferior to Israels forces, but it is upgrading its missile, rocket, antitank, aircraft and air defense inventories . Recent Syrian contracts with Russia for future delivery include new MiG-31 and MiG-29M/M2 fighter aircraft.
The MiG-31E is reportedly offered on a trade-in basis for countries that have the MiG-25 Foxbat interceptor, a list that currently includes only Syria, Libya, and Kazakhstan.
The big MiG-25 caused quite a sensation in the west when it was first unveiled, and incidents in which the planes were tracked at speeds around Mach 3 added to its mystique. In time, the west would learn that its aerodynamic design and lack of a gun made it vulnerable in dogfights, that flying at speeds over Mach 2.5 had a tendency to melt the planes engines, and that its range was extremely short. Ddefector Viktor Belenko, who gave the USA its first look by flying his MiG-25 from Russia to Japan, found that the 1-way flight left his fuel tanks nearly dry.
The MiG-31 made a virtue out of the Foxbats vices, turning it into a 2-seat hunter-killer of cruise missiles via extra fuel, improved engines and intakes, in-flight refueling, the Flash Dance electronically scanned radar, a retractable refueling probe, and an internal gun. Unlike its predecessor, the MiG-31 is capable of low-level supersonic flight, and can reach Mach 2.8 before its engines begin to melt. It also has communications capabilities that allow its pilot to view the full air battle in a C3I mini-AWACS role, and direct other aircraft like a chess player.
Aeronautics.RU described the MiG-31E variant as:
Export version of basic Type 01. Prototype (903) first noted 1997; simplified systems, no active jammer, downgraded IFF, radar and DASS. Offered to China, India and other countries.
These planes could be of some use to Syria in an air defense role. Syrias air force, which was once reliably on the cutting edge of technology during its Cold War years as a Soviet proxy, has not modernized in over a decade.
Irans two air forces (regular and Revolutionary Guard) would find the MiG-31s style crimped by the absence of air-to-air refueling capabilities, but cruise missile defense is important to them given the likelihood of cruise being used in enemy strikes from Israel or America. MiG-31s could also step into the fighter AWACS role that has been played to date by Irans dwindling but ingeniously maintained fleet of F-14A Tomcat fighters. This would be only marginally useful against a full American offensive, but could make a big difference to Irans ability to cover limited targets such as an Israeli strike on its nuclear bomb-making facilities.
Readers who really want to understand the MiG-31 are urged to book a flight for themselves.
As for the MiG-29, Syria already flies earlier versions. So does Iran, thanks to the Iraqi Air Force who fled to safe haven in Iran during the 1991 Gulf War.
The aircraft has a poor combat record, in part because early variants, that were not fully equipped, were used in scenarios that were extremely lopsided from the outset in all respects.
When used on more even terms, however, German pilots who flew East Germanys older MiG-29As against NATO F-16s and other jets believed that the planes were nearly unbeatable in short-range dogfights when armed with Russias AA-11/R-73 Archer short range missiles and helmet-mounted display systems. The fallout from those exercises actually led Germany to quit the ASRAAM program, and begin work on the multinational IRIS-T short-range missile instead. It also led to helmet-mounted sights becoming standard equipment on most modern combat aircraft around the world.
The MiG-29As biggest weaknesses were short range, engines that produce telltale smoke (very bad in air combat) and lack of true multi-role capability. Its other weakness is Russian spare parts support; India found that the long turnaround times led to terrible readiness rates, with a large portion of its MiG-29A fleet grounded at any given time. In response, they have taken steps that include licensed local engine production.
The MiG-29M/M2 uses welded lithium-aluminum alloys to save weight, while adding extra fuel in a new aircraft spine down the back and in the spaces once occupied by the auxiliary air intakes. This is coupled with improved engines, and redesigned horizontal tailplanes that improve maneuvering performance. A new radar and avionics package improves air-air performance, broadens its available arsenal, and adds ground-attack capability, making it a true multi-role aircraft.
The MiG-29OVT, aka. MiG-35, adds further upgrades to the radar and avionics package, and offers multi-directional thrust-vectoring engines for an additional super-maneuverability edge close-in.
In a situation where neither side had external advantages, when flown by pilots of comparable skill, and armed with similar missiles, it is likely that a true MiG-35 would be at least an even adversary for any Israeli opponent, and any American aircraft other than the F-22A.
Of course, war isnt about even odds. War is about finding the most unbalancing things available, and doing them as quickly as possible. The use of true AWACS aircraft, electronic jamming, better radars, better missiles, and pilot skill differences would all combine to ensure that any fight involving Israel vs. Syria or Iran vs. the USA would be anything but even. Syrias MiG-25s, MiG-23s, and MiG-21s experienced that first hand in 1982, when they were massacred 80 to 0 over Lebanons Bekaa Valley.
Syria Buying MiG-31s, MiG-29s for $1 billion
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