Chapter 148 MiG-31

"We defeated the Americans! This is a victory worth celebrating!"

At the Far Eastern Military Region Air Defense Force Headquarters in Vladivostok, Lieutenant General Konstantin Burman, the Far Eastern Military Region Air Defense Force Commander, said excitedly: "Andrei, you have made a great contribution this time!"

Everyone knows that this revenge plan against the Americans was planned by Andre himself, including the activation of the Petrel base on Iturupu Island and the use of the Tu-22 to conduct a simulated attack on the US Navy aircraft carrier formation. These were all Andre's ideas. These even caused heated debates. In the end, Andre used various reasons to convince everyone and the plan was passed.

Now, this plan has been a complete success. More than a dozen American F-15 fighter jets were shot down and damaged, and the American early warning aircraft were also destroyed, leaving the Americans powerless to fight back!

After the air battle, the Americans did not say a word and honestly stopped their invasion of the airspace of Sakhalin Island. After the situation temporarily eased, Andrei and the commander of the 24th Division, Major General Manitsky-Dzagoyev, and others came to Vladivostok to discuss the next course of action.

"This is all thanks to everyone," Andre said, "including the early warning aircraft and electronic jammers from Western Europe, which provided great support for our operations."

Andrei did not take credit for himself. In this battle, everyone would have made contributions and received commendations from their superiors, but Andrei would definitely get the honor. After all, he was the one who planned this operation. Defense Minister Ustinov trusted Andrei and asked him to assist the 24th Division. The main force against the F-15s were the MiG-25 fighters of the 513th Regiment.

However, Andre's words still satisfied everyone. Among the people present, Andre's military rank was the lowest. However, no one would look down on Andre, because Andre was only 24 years old and already had the rank of colonel! Only during World War II could there be such a young colonel!

Moreover, with the merits of commanding this air battle and fighting on the front line, he might soon be promoted to the rank of general. Even if it doesn't work now, the upcoming war will give Andre enough opportunities!

"Andre, can our air defense force's fighter jets completely seize air superiority over Hokkaido?" Just when everyone was thinking about it, Lieutenant General Burman suddenly asked.

Seize the air supremacy over Hokkaido? A question suddenly popped up in Andre's mind. Could it be that Moscow really decided to start a war in the Far East? Yes, now it is the Americans who took the initiative to provoke the war. As a tough red empire, they must take advantage of it!

"We want to seize air superiority over Hokkaido, which means we have to engage in an air battle with all the U.S. troops stationed on the island." Andre said, "Right now, the main force of the U.S. Air Force is still the F-4 fighter, which is bulky and has insufficient performance. Our MiG-23 can engage in air battles with this type of fighter without falling into a disadvantage. However, the United States will definitely mobilize new F-15s, and there will also be Tomcat fighters of the U.S. Navy. The biggest threat to our MiG-25 fighters is the Tomcat fighter. The Phoenix missiles launched by this fighter can shoot us down from an altitude of 30,000 meters, and the terminal stage is active radar guidance. If we are not careful and are targeted by this fighter, we will suffer losses. Now, our MiG-25s are relatively small in number and cannot withstand consumption."

Although the Tomcat fighter has not yet gotten rid of the engine problem, the combination of AWG-9 and Phoenix has always been Andre's biggest headache. In the next air battle, the Americans will definitely send early warning aircraft, jammers and the like together, and the advantage of electromagnetic power is still on the American side.

Although the MiG-25 looks advanced, it is best not to get involved in a dogfight with the American third-generation aircraft. It is better to take advantage of its high altitude and high speed. The only threat at high altitude is the Phoenix!

"Our superiors will transfer a MiG-25 flight regiment from Europe to make up for our shortcomings in this area. However, we must be prepared for the American Tomcat fighters. Andre, do you have any good solutions?" Lieutenant General Burman continued to ask.

"If we want to deal with the Tomcat, we'd better have the same long-range missiles." Andre said: "If our MiG-25 can launch missiles with a range of more than 100 kilometers, we can intercept the American Tomcat fighters at a long distance and prevent their sneak attacks."

Air-to-air missile with a range of over one hundred kilometers!

Andrei knew that this missile was under development in the Soviet arsenal, code-named R-33. In appearance, it was very similar to the American Phoenix missile, and also earned the nickname Phoenixski. It had a maximum range of 120 kilometers and was specifically designed for use with the MiG-31.

Now, the MiG-31 should be under development. According to later memories, this more powerful interceptor should have entered service in the Air Defense Force in 1981. Although it was developed based on the MiG-25, it is more expensive, with an increased content of titanium alloy in the fuselage and a phased array radar replaced in the nose. This huge fighter has continued to serve in the Russian Air Force in later generations.

Without long-range air-to-air missiles, they would have to face sneak attacks from the Americans at any time. Now, the performance of the American AIM-7F Sparrow missile is more advanced than ours. Once the F-4 fighters are equipped with such medium-range air defense missiles in large numbers, it will pose a greater threat to fighters such as the MiG-23. The invulnerable MiG-25 will also lose its advantage in front of the Phoenix.

This time, the Tu-22 bomber formation was used to scare the Tomcat fleet, but next time, if a fighting really breaks out over Hokkaido, it will be a real war, and the Tomcats will definitely dare to fire at their own bomber formation.

"Well, this is a serious problem." Lieutenant General Burman said, "The Mikoyan Design Bureau suggested to us that we could send two prototypes they are developing for actual combat testing. I think we can consider asking them to help us. I heard that they have already launched missiles with a range of more than 100 kilometers and achieved success in target shooting."

A new aircraft from the Mikoyan Design Bureau? Andrei suddenly felt his eyelids twitching. Oh my god, could it really be a MiG-31? If there were two of them, the American Tomcat fighters would be scared away!