What if? 1:72 Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-21G; "24+17", JG 71 ‘Richthofen’ (Whif)

[dizzyfugu]

Neues aus der Hexenküche. Einfache Frage: was wäre, wenn die Bundesluftwaffe ihre von der NVA geerbten MiG-21 nicht sofort abgeschriebn hätte, sondern z. B. als Lückenbüßer für den ewig verspäteten Eurofighter genutzt hätte?

Dies hier als Antwort - auf Fragen der Geschichte. die sonst niemand stellt


1:72 Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-21G; "24+17", JG 71 ‘Richthofen’, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Wittmundhafen, 1995 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-21G; "24+17", JG 71 ‘Richthofen’, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Wittmundhafen, 1995 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-21G; "24+17", JG 71 ‘Richthofen’, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Wittmundhafen, 1995 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-21G; "24+17", JG 71 ‘Richthofen’, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Wittmundhafen, 1995 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-21G; "24+17", JG 71 ‘Richthofen’, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Wittmundhafen, 1995 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-21G; "24+17", JG 71 ‘Richthofen’, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Wittmundhafen, 1995 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-21G; "24+17", JG 71 ‘Richthofen’, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Wittmundhafen, 1995 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-21G; "24+17", JG 71 ‘Richthofen’, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Wittmundhafen, 1995 (Whif) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Das Modell ist eine dezent umgebaute MiG-21MA von Mastercraft. Neu sind z. B. der Treibwerksauslass, der Lufteinlass vorm Seitenruder, die Düppelwerfer am Heck, eine neue Kanone unter dem Rumpf, ein Pilot, die Sidewinder-Bewaffnung und der Norm 81A-Anstrich.

Wen's interessiert: 24+17 war tatsächlich eine reale Restrierung für eine NVA-MiG-21bis (vorher "837 Rot") - aber wie alle MiG-21 wurde auch diese nicht aktiv übernommen, sondern zum 3.10.1990 abgeschrieben und später in Dresden verschrottet.


Die Story dazu...

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (Russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Some 50 countries over four continents have flown the MiG-21, and it still serves many nations a half-century after its maiden flight.

The MiG-21 also served with the Armed Forcess of the German Democratic Republic (Nationale Volksarmee, NVA; Air Force: Luftstreitkräfte, LSK). When Germany’s unification came about, the air forces of both formerly independent states were merged in October 1990 under the West German Bundesluftwaffe. Many aircraft from the GDR’s forces (the LSK/NVA) were tested and evaluated for future use, but only a few types were kept or even introduced to further service. One such example were 28 MiG-29s which were converted to Western standards as MiG-29G and actively flown, but these aircraft were eventually sold to Poland in 2004.

Another Soviet type which saw active use in the Bundesluftwaffe’s arsenal – even though only in very limited numbers – was the MiG-21bis. With the Eurofighter (formerly Jäger 90, now Typhoon) and its development lagging more and more in time, the Luftwaffe was only (and still) left with F-4F fighters in the QRA role.

Even though a modernization program for the German F-4F fleet was launched in the 90ies (KWS = Kampfwertsteigerung), which was to upgrade radar and electronics and introduce the AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile, the “heritage” of light MiG-21bis fighters with low mileage in 1990 was a welcome addition. Simple, light, cheap to maintain and having a professional pilot pool at hand that would need no training on a hew aircraft type, the decision was made to revamp former GDR aircraft. The alternative would have been to lease an interim type, like the F-16 as Italy did when the F-104S was phased out, and also had no Eurofighter at hand to replace them. But this solution was considered to be too complex and simply have a longer preparation time, including pilot training.

Consequential, the MiG-21bis was to be modernized with NATO-compatible avionics and armament as well as a domestic engine. Operationally, these aircraft were to be added to the Jagdstaffeln in northern Germany as a support for the ageing F-4Fs.

24 airframes with little mileage were chosen from the former NVA’s 14 MiG-21bis izdeliye 75A (Fishbed L) and 32 izdeliye 75B (Fishbed N) aircraft, which had all served with LSK’s JG8 at Marxwalde. Starting in April 1991 the MiG-21bis were transferred to Deutsche Aerospace AG (DASA) in Hamburg for modification to MiG-21G (for Germany) standard.

This program included:

• Replacement of the original Tumanskiy R25-300 engine with a slightly more powerful but much more modern, reliable and fuel-economic Turbo-Union RB199-34R Mk 103 afterburning turbofan
  Modified rear fuselage through the much shorter RB-199 engine, including an elongated afterburner nozzle, an additional air intake at the fin root and an additional fuel cell in the rear fuselage 
• Replacement of the original Soviet RP-21M radar with an Emerson AN/APQ-159 planar array radar with a range of 20 nmi
• Addition of a passive AN/ALR-23 infrared sensor under the air intake
• Adaptation of the armament to Western/German standards, including the replacement of the internal GSh-23-2 gun with a single BK-27 27mm Mauser cannon, avionics for AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles and conformal chaff/flare dispensers at the base of the fin
• German/English stencils and change of gauges to feet, knots and nautic miles
• Air superiority paint scheme according to current ‘Norm 81’ standard

The MiG-21G was optimized for the short-range interception role. The AN/APQ-159 provided sufficient all-weather capability, even though only two AIM-9 would be carried. Alternatively, in a secondary ground attack role, the MiG-21G could carry up to four BL-755 cluster bombs, iron bombs of up to 1.000 lb calibre or Matra pods with unguided missiles. The under-fuselage and outer wing pylons were wet to carry drop tanks, which were frequently carried due to the low range of the MiG-21, despite the new engine and the added fuel cell in the rear fuselage section.

The first modernized MiG-21 became available in March 1992 and the aircraft were allocated to Jagdgeschwader 71 ‘Richthofen’ at Wittmund and Jagdgeschwader 73 ‘Steinhoff’ at Laage, the latter also operated the MiG-29G during that time. Tactical code numbers were kept from the preliminary registrations under which most of the MiG-21's from NVA/LSK had been taken over but written off. As a consequence, all MiG-21G had codes in in the 24 xx range but in inconsecutive order – an uncommon practice in the Luftwaffe arsenal!

JG71 actively used the MiG-21G in the QRA interception role over the North Sea, while JG73 focused more on dissimilar training for NATO partners with Soviet types - the aircraft were, together with the MiG-29G, frequently transferred to Decimonmannu Air Base on Sardinia for NATO air combat training, wher they were even pitted against Israeli F-15 fighters. All aircraft were piloted by former NVA pilots who already flown the type before, so that no special trainer was necessary and the former NVA’s MiG-21UMs could be sold or scrapped. It was not planned to introduce new German pilots to the MiG-21G, since the aircraft was only seen as a stop-gap solution for the pending Typhoon.

The MiG-21G modernization program was completed in August 1993 and an operational success, even though the program costs exploded, performance was not as good as expected and the aircraft only filled a very specialized gap within German boundaries. With upgraded F-4F KWS gradually being introduced in the mid-90ies, the MiG-21Gs were concentrated at JG71.

A total of three aircraft were lost during service. Finally in 2004, with the much delayed introduction of the Eurofighter Typhoon imminent, the decision was taken to retire the MiG-21G as quick as possible. JG 71's aircraft were withdrawn in August 2004, all airframes were scrapped.[/i]


General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 15.0m with pitot (49 ft 2.5 in)
Wingspan: 7.154 m (23 ft 5.66 in)
Height: 4.125 m (13 ft 6.41 in)
Wing area: 23.0 m2 (247.3 ft2)
Empty weight: 5.560 kg (12.246 lb)
Gross weight: 9.350 kg (20.594 lb)

Powerplant
1 × Turbo-Union RB199-34R Mk 103 afterburning turbofan with 43.8 kN (9.850 lbf) dry thrust and 76.8 kN (17.270 lbf) with afterburner

Performance
Maximum speed: 2.090 km/h (1.300 mph)
Maximum speed: Mach 2.1
Range: (internal fuel only) 1.400 km (870 ml)
Service ceiling: 17.600 m (58.500 ft)
Rate of climb: 225 m/s (44.280 ft/min)

Armament
1x internal 27 mm (1.063 in) Mauser BK-27 revolver cannon with 150 rounds
A total of max. 2.000 kg (4.405 lbs) of external ordnance on five hardpoints, including up to 4x AIM-9L Sidewinder AAMs (typically only two carried on the inner wing pylons), drop tanks (490l under the outer wings or max. 800l under the fuselage) and unguided bombs or missiles of up to 500kg (1.100 lbs) each.