Soviet/Russian Aircraft

The Russian military posseses some of the most advanced weapons technology and, in our opionion, the world's best fighter and bomber - the MiG 1.42 and T-60S, respectively. Although these are highly classified prototype aircraft, we believe that they outperform anything declassified that the west has to offer. Also, since these planes are classifed and many of their statistics are unknown, we have done our best to estimate them.

MiG 1.42

The MiG 1.42

The MiG 1.42 Mnogofunktsionalny Frontovoi Istrebitel (Multifunctional Frontline Fighter), or MFI, was designed as a response to the American F-22. Its makers, MAPO-MiG, say it will be able to outperform the most advanced US fighter, the F-22 Raptor. Like the F-22, the MiG 1.42 has a "thrust vectoring" system that gives it greater manueverability than current fighters. It also has similar stealth capabilities, employing composite materials, a special shape, S-shaped compressor channels, internal weapon storage, and perhaps an active radar cancellation system or a plasma cloud stealth system to avoid detection. Considering previous Russian fighters, such as the super-maneuverable Su-37, the MiG 1.42 will definitely enjoy greater maneuverability. Additionally, MAPO-MiG also claims that it would be stealthier than the F-22. And, since it is bigger, the MiG 1.42 will have a greater range. The MiG 1.42 is a twin-engine aircraft with a cranked delta wing, canards, twin tail fins, jet intakes under the nose, and 3D vectoring nozzles. It features the new Phazotron N-014 phased array fire control radar as well as a rear-facing N-012 radar. Even though the 70 million dollar MiG 1.42 costs less than half of the F-22's $150 million, the cash-strapped Russian military cannot afford it. However, the Russian government may try to market the aircraft to India and China.

SPECIFICATIONS
Length:	20 meters
Height:	5.6 meters
Wingspan:	15 meters
Take-off Weight:	28500 kg.
Main Propulsion:	2 Lyulka-Saturn AL-41F with 3D thrust vectoring
Thrust:	18500 kg.
Maximum Speed:	Mach 2.5
Maximum Altitude:	18500 meters
Range:	4000+ km (2,500+ miles)
Armaments Capacity:	6500 on 12 internal stations
Armaments:	Everything in VVS fighter weapons inventory, including R-77 missiles. MFI would also have some special weapons, like ultra-long-range AA missiles (Novator).
Radar Equipment:	Forward and rearward facing radars; forward-facing radar N-014 phased array with electronically-scanned antenna - simultaneous tracking of 40 and engagement of up to 20 targets; effective range against a fighter-sized target: 420km, extended AS capability, ground mapping capability; rearward-facing radar N-012.
Stealth Features:	Composite RAM, S-shaped compressor channels, internal weapons storage, LO airframe geometry, perhaps an active radar cancellation system or a plasma cloud stealth system.

This earlier version looks almost nothing like the current version of the T-60S. In fact, it looks a lot like the T-4, another Russian bomber. The T-4 was started in in 1963 to counter the American XB-70 Valkyrie intercontinental strategic bomber. The T-4 had completed successful flight tests, and almost reached its design requirements, when it was abruptly cancelled, because of the termination of the XB-70. After all, Russia always has to be second best - if the Americans don't have it, why should Russia? [This is actually how they think - when Russia developed a space shuttle ahead of America, the military leaders cancelled it because they saw that America didn't have one.]

SPECIFICATIONS
Type:	Intermediate-range strike/interdiction aircraft
Length:	38 m (125 ft)
Height:	10 m (33 ft)
Wing span (extended)	10 m (33 ft)
Wing span (swept)	24 m (79 ft)
Weight (empty):	32,000 kg (70,500 lb)
Main Propulsion:	2 23,500 kg (51,800 lb) turbofans
Maximum Speed:	Mach 2
Maximum Altitude:	20,000 m (65,500 ft)
Maximum Range:	6,000 km (3,250 nm)
Range (full load):	2,200 km (1,200 nm)
Armament:	Maximum of 20,000 kg (44,000 lb) of free fall nuclear and conventional bombs, guided munitions, up to 8 cruise missiles, including Kh-101, Kh-55MS (AS-15 Kent) ALCM (Air Launched Cruise Missile), Kh-15P (AS-16 Kickback) SRAM (Short Range Attack Missile).